UNIVERSIDAD DE PAMPLONA

Their core work

Universidad de Pamplona (Colombia) specializes in volatile organic compound (VOC) analysis and breath-based diagnostics, contributing to EU research on non-invasive disease detection. Their work spans veterinary and human health, using electronic nose technology, GC-MS, and metabolomics to identify disease biomarkers in breath, skin headspace, and faeces. They bring expertise in tropical and zoonotic disease diagnostics — areas where Latin American field experience is especially valuable to European consortia.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

Their early work (2015–2019) focused on metabolomics-driven biomarker discovery for veterinary and tropical diseases, using breath and skin headspace sampling with electronic nose devices. From 2019 onward, their scope expanded to human health (gastric cancer screening via VOGAS) and their toolbox grew to include nanomaterials and advanced chemical gas sensors. The trajectory shows a clear move from animal disease diagnostics toward broader clinical applications while deepening their sensor technology capabilities.

Moving from veterinary disease detection toward human clinical diagnostics, with increasing sophistication in sensor hardware (nanomaterials, hybrid sensing).

How they like to work

Universidad de Pamplona operates almost exclusively as a third-party or partner — never as coordinator. With 29 unique consortium partners across 20 countries from just 4 projects, they embed into large international MSCA-RISE mobility networks rather than leading small focused teams. This suggests they contribute specialized field expertise and laboratory capabilities that European consortia seek as a complement, particularly for tropical and zoonotic disease contexts only accessible in Latin America.

Despite only 4 projects, they have worked with 29 partners across 20 countries — a remarkably wide network driven by large MSCA-RISE staff exchange consortia. Their geographic reach is truly global, connecting Latin American disease contexts with European sensor and diagnostics research groups.

What sets them apart

As a Colombian university in H2020, they offer something European partners cannot replicate: direct access to tropical and zoonotic disease environments (leishmaniasis, bovine TB, tropical infections) for field validation of diagnostic technologies. Their consistent focus on breath and VOC diagnostics across all four projects makes them a deep specialist rather than a generalist. For any consortium developing non-invasive diagnostic tools that need real-world testing in endemic regions, they are an unusually well-positioned partner.

Highlights from their portfolio

• VOGAS
  Their only project as a direct participant with EC funding (EUR 111K), applying their VOC expertise to gastric cancer — a significant step from veterinary to human clinical diagnostics.
• CANLEISH
  Most recent project (2021-2025) introduces nanomaterials and advanced chemical gas sensors, signaling a technology upgrade in their diagnostic toolkit.
• TROPSENSE
  Their earliest H2020 project (2015), establishing the breath-test-for-tropical-diseases niche that defines their entire portfolio.