Muscat – The Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation (MoHERI) hosted its Tenth Annual Research Forum on Monday, showcasing the pinnacle of Omani academic and research achievements. 

The event, held under the patronage of H E Dr Hilal bin Ali al Sabti, Minister of Health, celebrated the winners of the National Research Award in the presence of esteemed officials and academics.

H E Dr Saif bin Abdullah al Hiddabi, Undersecretary for Research and Innovation in MoHERI, emphasised the forum’s role in aligning with His Majesty Sultan Haitham bin Tarik’s vision for a knowledge-based economy. 

He lauded the National Research Award for encouraging Omani researchers, innovators and scientists, driving research that address global and national challenges.

The event also put the spotlight on success stories from MoHERI’s various programmes and featured discussions on the impact of research on both the industrial and academic sectors. 

Additionally, research contracts were signed for the Strategic Research Projects Programme wor-th RO800,000 and Block Fundi- ng Programme worth RO2mn.

The forum honoured outstanding researchers in two categories – PhD holders or equiv- alent, and young researchers.

Winners in PhD holder category:

Information and Communication Technologies: Dr Alya Talib al Farsi for ‘A Non-Iterative Reasoning Algorithm for Fuzzy Cognitive Maps based on Type 2 Fuzzy Sets’.

Education and Human Resources: Dr. Khalaf Marhoun al Abri for ‘Association between motivation to leave the teaching profession profiles and job satisfaction among Omani teachers: a latent profile analysis’.

Health and Social Services: Dr Abdul Hakeem Yaqoob al Hashim for ‘Comparison of Noninvasive Mechanical Ventilation With High-Flow Nasal Cannula, Face-Mask, and Helmet in Hypoxemic Respiratory Failure in Patients With COVID-19’.

Environmental and Biological Resources: Dr Tahereh Jafary for ‘Novel two-chamber tubular microbial desalination cell for bioelectricity production’.

Energy and Industry: Dr. Mohammed Seddik Meddah for ‘Sarooj mortar: From a traditional building material to an engineered pozzolan’.

Young Researcher’s Category:

Information and Communication Technologies: Fatma Nasser al Shohoumi for ‘A Review of Radiomics in Predicting Therapeutic Response in Colorectal Liver Metastases’.

Education and Human Resources: Marwa Nasser al Rajhi for ‘The role of cultural intelligence and adaptation methods for Omani scholarship students’.

Health and Social Services: Dr. Rajaa Saleh al Farsi for ‘Delirium in Medically Hospitalized Patients’.

Environmental and Biological Resources: Maklas Said al Marshoudi for ‘Additive effects of microplastics on accumulation and toxicity of cadmium in male zebrafish’.

Energy and Industry: Mohammed Abdullah al Breiki for ‘Liquified hydrogen vs. liquified renewable methane’.