HADASSAH MEDICAL ORGANIZATION

Their core work

Hadassah Medical Organization is a major academic medical center in Jerusalem combining clinical hospital operations with biomedical research. In the H2020 program, their research activity focused on medical imaging — specifically developing safer MRI contrast agents that avoid gadolinium, a heavy metal with known toxicity risks, by using hyperpolarised magnetic resonance technologies instead. They have also contributed to neuroscience training, indicating a broader biomedical research capacity spanning brain imaging and neurological applications. As a hospital-based research institution, their work sits at the intersection of clinical need and applied medical technology development.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the first half of their H2020 participation (2015-2019), Hadassah contributed to neuroscience training through NextGenVis, a role with no distinctive technical keywords attached — suggesting a supporting or clinical site function within a broader European consortium. By 2019, they had pivoted sharply toward medical imaging technology, taking the coordinator role in AlternativesToGd and generating a dense cluster of precise MRI-related keywords: gadolinium-free probes, hyperpolarised MRI, perfusion, and T1 relaxation. The trajectory is clear: from a supporting clinical partner in neuroscience toward an independent research leader in advanced MRI contrast methodology.

Hadassah is moving toward project leadership in quantitative MRI and molecular imaging, with a specific technical niche in hyperpolarised contrast media — a field with growing clinical and regulatory urgency as gadolinium safety concerns intensify globally.

How they like to work

Hadassah has experience both as a participant (NextGenVis) and as a project coordinator (AlternativesToGd), showing they can operate at both levels of a consortium. Their network of 23 partners across 8 countries from just 2 projects suggests they engage with fairly large, diverse consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. This breadth indicates they are comfortable managing international collaborations and bringing together clinical, chemistry, and physics partners around a shared medical problem.

Hadassah has built connections with 23 unique partners across 8 countries through two projects, an unusually broad network for a two-project portfolio. Their collaboration geography spans Europe and likely includes partners from chemistry, physics, and clinical research given the interdisciplinary nature of their MRI work.

What sets them apart

Hadassah is one of the very few hospital-based H2020 coordinators in Israel working at the technical frontier of MRI contrast agent development — a position that combines clinical credibility with hands-on research capability that pure chemistry or physics labs cannot replicate. Their focus on gadolinium-free alternatives addresses a real and growing clinical problem: gadolinium deposition in patients receiving repeated MRI scans, which is increasingly scrutinized by regulators. A consortium looking for a clinical research site with specific MRI imaging expertise and regulatory awareness of contrast agent safety would find Hadassah a rare fit.

Highlights from their portfolio

• AlternativesToGd
  Hadassah coordinated this RIA project (€440,870), making them the scientific and administrative lead for developing hyperpolarised MRI probes as a clinical replacement for toxic gadolinium-based contrast agents — a project with direct patient safety implications.
• NextGenVis
  Participation in this MSCA-ITN European training network for visual neuroscientists shows Hadassah's capacity to host early-career researchers and contribute clinical neuroscience expertise to large multi-partner training consortia.