Mohamed El-Hadidi
Associate Professor of Bioinformatics and MSc Bioinformatics Program Director Department of Cancer and Genomic Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health (CMH)
"PREVENT-DXB is more than a research project; it is a step toward transforming how cities like Dubai use AI and bioinformatics to safeguard public health. By decoding the microbiome and resistome within one of the world’s busiest airports, we aim to predict and prevent emerging biological threats before they spread. This initiative embodies Dubai’s vision for innovation-driven resilience, uniting science, technology, and collaboration to build a healthier, more secure future."
PREVENT-DXB (Predictive Resistome and Environmental Virome Exploration for Novel Threat Detection) aims to establish a real-time, AI-driven bioinformatics framework for metagenomic surveillance of microbiome and resistome signatures across Dubai International Airport, a global hub of human mobility. The project integrates genomics, artificial intelligence, and biosecurity analytics to detect, characterize, and predict emerging microbial and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threats, strengthening Dubai’s readiness for infectious disease prevention and control.
By combining environmental sampling from airport surfaces, air, and wastewater with advanced sequencing and bioinformatics pipelines, PREVENT-DXB will generate comprehensive microbial and genetic profiles. These data will feed into AI-based predictive models to identify potential biosecurity risks and track resistance trends over time. The approach merges metagenomic sequencing, resistome mapping, and machine learning for anomaly detection, enabling early warning of novel or high-risk microbial patterns.
The multidisciplinary consortium brings together the University of Birmingham Dubai (UoBD), Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), Dubai Police, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA), and the University of Cambridge (UK). Each partner contributes complementary expertise spanning genomics, epidemiology, data science, and AI.
Beyond research excellence, PREVENT-DXB directly supports Dubai’s RDI priorities in Health and Wellbeing and Augmented Human-Machine Intelligence. The project’s outcomes will establish a sustainable model for genomic biosurveillance in critical infrastructure, enhance local scientific capacity through training and data-sharing frameworks, and strengthen Dubai’s global leadership in health innovation and biosecurity preparedness.
Ultimately, PREVENT-DXB represents a pioneering effort to transform metagenomic surveillance from reactive to predictive, enabling Dubai to detect biological threats before they spread and to serve as a global model for data-driven public health resilience.