King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) hosted a two-day workshop on Feb.19-20, 2013 to present and discuss the first results of the project that won the 2011 SEDCO Research Excellence Award. The workshop, held in the Engineering Science Hall at KAUST, was attended by senior officials from SEDCO and KAUST who gathered to hear presentations by members of the team that in 2011 submitted the winning research proposal titled “The Deep-Sea Brine Pools of the Red Sea: From Novel Extreme Organisms to Commercial Applications.” Speaking at the opening ceremony, Anees Moumina, CEO of SEDCO, said: “It is King Abdullah's wish that Saudi Arabia becomes a world leader in science and technology – as embodied in the founding of KAUST – and it is SEDCO's privilege to share in making the humanitarian King's wish come true by supporting multi-disciplinary scientific research that helps to advance the growth and prosperity of our beloved nation.” Noting that care for humanity and his love for Saudi Arabia were very dear to the heart of SEDCO's founder, the late Sheikh Salim bin Mahfouz, Moumina said the establishment of the SEDCO Research Excellence Award pays tribute to Sheikh Salim as a pioneering practitioner of corporate social responsibility in the Kingdom. “The excellent progress that is being made by the award-winning team of faculty members of KAUST is truly awe-inspiring and on behalf of SEDCO I thank these brilliant scientists for their dedication to unlocking nature's secrets that lie off our shores,” Moumina noted. The head of the award-winning team of KAUST senior faculty members, Professor Ulrich Stingl, assistant professor, Marine Science, opened the workshop with an overview of the research project, which was followed by contributions from other members of the team and keynote lectures by visiting scientists from universities and institutions abroad who are specialists in various aspects of the program. The subject of the research project is due to the advent of modern molecular microbiology, which has resulted in a whole new perspective of the earth's biosphere. Microorganisms are by far the most populous life forms on our planet and are found in virtually every possible habitat including environments previously thought to be sterile due to the harshness of their conditions. In parallel, molecules resulting from adaptations of microbes to their own unique environment have been discovered to be bioactive and have been used for many applications in diverse fields of biotechnology. The deep-sea anoxic brines of the Red Sea are considered to be one of the most remote, challenging, and extreme environments on Earth, while remaining one of the least studied. Approximately 25 such brine-filled pools are currently known and because of the unusually harsh conditions it is highly likely that the residing microbes developed novel metabolic pathways, enzymes, and chemicals in order to survive. The SEDCO Research Excellence Award winning project is focused on the biotechnological exploration of these novel organisms, merging existing expertise in marine science, microbiology, bio-catalysis, computational biology, and chemistry. Some of the commercial uses that could stem from this research include anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-cancer compounds that could impact and have far-reaching implications on global medicine and worldwide health. – SG
