TEHRAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCES

Their core work

Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS) is Iran's leading medical university, contributing clinical and biomedical research expertise to international health consortia. Their H2020 work spans diagnostics development — particularly point-of-care biosensors for bone disease — and clinical-stage drug development for neglected tropical diseases like leishmaniasis. They also bring epidemiological and genomic research capacity to cancer studies, especially HPV-related head and neck cancers across diverse populations.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

TUMS entered H2020 in 2017 with a diagnostics and biomarker focus — their first project combined genomics, proteomics, and biosensor technology for osteoporosis detection. By 2019, they shifted toward disease-focused clinical research: cancer genetics (HEADSpAcE) and drug development for leishmaniasis (TT4CL). This evolution suggests a move from diagnostic tool development toward translational medicine and clinical trials, particularly for diseases prevalent in their geographic region.

TUMS is moving toward translational clinical research, especially for diseases with high prevalence in the Middle East and Global South — making them a strong partner for projects needing clinical trial sites in these regions.

How they like to work

TUMS participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator — consistent with being a non-EU institution contributing regional expertise to EU-led consortia. With 32 unique partners across 14 countries from just 3 projects, they operate in large, geographically diverse consortia. This suggests they are valued for specific clinical or regional capabilities rather than project management, making them a low-overhead collaboration partner who brings domain expertise without competing for leadership.

Despite only 3 projects, TUMS has built a broad network of 32 partners across 14 countries, indicating they join large international consortia. Their partnerships likely span European universities and hospitals, with potential links to South American institutions through the HEADSpAcE cancer study.

What sets them apart

As Iran's top medical university, TUMS offers something few European partners can: access to patient populations, clinical infrastructure, and disease expertise specific to the Middle East and Western Asia. For leishmaniasis research or cancer studies requiring genetically diverse cohorts, they provide irreplaceable clinical access. Their participation signals that a consortium has genuine global health ambitions beyond the EU bubble.

Highlights from their portfolio

• TT4CL
  A rare example of clinical drug development (preclinical to Phase I) for neglected tropical disease leishmaniasis within H2020, with EUR 371K funding to TUMS.
• HEADSpAcE
  Ambitious cross-continental cancer study linking South America and Europe, indicating TUMS provides a third geographic axis for comparative genomic research.