Join the landmark Phenotype Study to help researchers understand how lifestyle, genetics, and environment shape human health in the UAE.
Tracking health across a generation to understand what truly shapes a life.
The EPP combines questionnaires, data collection, innovative tests and advanced artificial intelligence methods to discover personal characteristics (your phenotype) that can help predict future medical conditions, even before they present symptomatically.
The Emirati Phenotype Project (EPP) is part of the Human Phenotype Project, and is a long-term observational study led by MBZUAI in partnership with the Institute for Healthier Living Abu Dhabi (IHLAD). The project is designed to gather information on health, traits, lifestyle and diseases in the UAE population.
Over 10 years we will monitor participants to explore and understand correlations between exposure to certain risk factors and the onset of diseases. The project is a unique global initiative that is closely aligned with the strategic plan and objectives of the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi.
Participation in the study is open to UAE citizens and residents aged 18 – 70, is free of charge, and is carried out under the highest standards of safety and confidentiality. The study has been approved by the Abu Dhabi Health Research and Technology Committee, Department of Health, and by ethics committees at MBZUAI and IHLAD, with all participant data stored in the UAE.
A lifetime of insight, built one visit at a time.
LONGITUDINAL FOLLOW-UP
ELIGIBLE AGE RANGE
BASELINE CLINIC VISIT
DATA STORED IN-COUNTRY
PARTICIPATION IS VOLUNTARY · WITHDRAW ANY TIME
Understanding ourselves is the first step toward better health: for you, and for generations to come.
How your genetic information is expressed in real life - your traits, biology, and responses to the world around you.
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Building a deep, multi-omics picture of human health in the UAE - to advance prediction, prevention, and personalized medicine.
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Every participant contributes to a dataset that may benefit future generations - and receives personal insights along the way.
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Understanding you and the expression of your biology.
By analyzing personal traits and data through sophisticated AI, we can identify future medical conditions at their earliest stages before symptoms appear.
A genotype is your genetic code - the instructions written in your DNA, which scientists have been studying for decades. The success of the Emirati Genome Program has ensured that the UAE has one of the most complete genotype data sets in the world, and the Emirati Phenotype Project (EPP) complements and builds on these efforts.
A phenotype captures how your genes express themselves in the real world — from your metabolism and immune response to your risk factors for disease. It bridges raw DNA with lived biology in a deeply personal way.
By combining phenotype data with advanced AI, we detect patterns that precede illness — sometimes years before symptoms appear — enabling truly preventive, personalized medicine at scale.
A global vision for longevity - by characterizing individual phenotypes, we empower the UAE to lead the world.
The purpose of the EPP is to develop methods that will predict diseases in people years before they show up clinically or present symptoms. Our goal is to develop methods that help prevent disease - improving the quality and longevity of life for each and every one of us.
Through the study we endeavour to support the UAE government and scientific community in achieving their strategic objectives across the healthcare sector: to become a global digital and data leader through advanced risk and disease detection.
Using data collected via a series of questionnaires and tests performed in our clinic, some of which are unique to the EPP study, sophisticated artificial intelligence tools will be used to safely process and characterize individual data – resulting in the individual 'phenotype'. We believe that in the future, methods can be developed that will improve our ability to predict various diseases on a personal level, years before they present clinically.
The purpose of the EPP is to develop methods that will predict diseases in people years before they show up clinically or present symptoms. Our goal is to develop methods that help prevent disease - improving the quality and longevity of life for each and every one of us.
Through the study we endeavour to support the UAE government and scientific community in achieving their strategic objectives across the healthcare sector: to become a global digital and data leader through advanced risk and disease detection.
Using data collected via a series of questionnaires and tests performed in our clinic, some of which are unique to the EPP study, sophisticated artificial intelligence tools will be used to safely process and characterize individual data – resulting in the individual 'phenotype'. We believe that in the future, methods can be developed that will improve our ability to predict various diseases on a personal level, years before they present clinically.
Every participant contributes to research that may benefit future generations — and receives personal insights they can track over time.
The HPP only works at scale. Every person who joins adds a new perspective — a different genetic background, lifestyle, or environmental context — that helps AI models generalize accurately to people like you and your family.
As well as contributing to research, you'll be given personal insights based on the collected data, which you can track over time. We encourage you to share these insights with your professional healthcare provider. In due course, we hope to provide cohort-level comparisons via the participant app.
Your identity will remain confidential. Personal identifiers are stored separately from research data. Secondary, anonymous data may be accessed by academia and private companies for further research — but you will never be identified in publications, datasets, or reports arising from this study.
Participation is completely voluntary. You may withdraw from the study at any time, without giving a reason. Your decision will not affect your medical care or legal rights.
A 2–3 hour baseline visit at the IHLAD clinic in Abu Dhabi
A 2-week home monitoring period (continuous glucose monitor + app)
A clinic visit every other year, alternating with questionnaire / phone check-ins
Ongoing but light engagement — voluntary and reversible at any time
From enrolment to completion, here's every step.
SCREENING & INFORMED CONSENT
You complete a short screening questionnaire to assess suitability.
Our team walks you through the informed consent process and registers you on the study platform.
Entirely voluntary - you can withdraw at any time, without reason.
BASELINE CLINIC VISIT
Your first visit at the IHLAD clinic in Abu Dhabi lasts approximately two to three hours.
Trained staff carry out non-invasive health measurements, imaging, and sample collection.
This covers body composition, cardiovascular health, and molecular biology.
HOME MONITORING
You wear a continuous glucose monitor for approximately two weeks.
You record meals, physical activity, sleep, and medications using the study mobile application.
LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP
Clinic visits every other year, with questionnaires and phone interviews on alternating years.
Over time you receive personal insights from your collected data.
These are for you to track, reflect on, and share with your healthcare provider.
SCREENING & INFORMED CONSENT
You complete a short screening questionnaire to assess suitability.
Our team walks you through the informed consent process and registers you on the study platform.
Entirely voluntary - you can withdraw at any time, without reason.
BASELINE CLINIC VISIT
Your first visit at the IHLAD clinic in Abu Dhabi lasts approximately two to three hours.
Trained staff carry out non-invasive health measurements, imaging, and sample collection.
This covers body composition, cardiovascular health, and molecular biology.
HOME MONITORING
You wear a continuous glucose monitor for approximately two weeks.
You record meals, physical activity, sleep, and medications using the study mobile application.
LONG-TERM FOLLOW-UP
Clinic visits every other year, with questionnaires and phone interviews on alternating years.
Over time you receive personal insights from your collected data.
These are for you to track, reflect on, and share with your healthcare provider.