UNIVERSITATEA SPIRU HARET

Their core work

Universitatea Spiru Haret specializes in non-invasive disease diagnostics using volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — the chemical signatures released by biological samples such as breath, skin, and feces. Their research team develops and validates volatolomics-based tests that detect infectious diseases in animals without requiring invasive procedures or laboratory-heavy methods. They combine metabolomics profiling, GC-MS analysis, and electronic nose sensor technology to identify disease-specific biomarker patterns. Their work sits at the intersection of analytical chemistry, veterinary medicine, and biosensor engineering, with a clear applied focus on producing practical diagnostic tools.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In their earlier work (2018–2021), the team focused on metabolomics and multi-sample VOC profiling — breath, skin, and feces — to detect bovine tuberculosis, a priority disease for livestock industries. Moving into their coordinator-led project from 2021, the focus shifted toward canine leishmaniasis diagnosis, with GC-MS and nanomaterial-based chemical sensors becoming more prominent alongside the continued electronic nose approach. The trajectory is clear: they are deepening their sensor engineering capability while expanding the range of veterinary diseases they can address with the same non-invasive VOC methodology.

They are consolidating around a platform technology — non-invasive VOC diagnostics with electronic nose systems — and progressively applying it to new animal diseases, suggesting potential expansion into additional infectious disease targets or even human diagnostics.

How they like to work

USH has experience in both partnership and leadership roles, having participated in bTB-Test before stepping up as coordinator in CANLEISH — a meaningful progression that indicates growing consortium management capability. Their network of 14 partners across 11 countries in just two projects suggests they participate in genuinely international, multi-node consortia rather than small bilateral arrangements. Working with them likely means engaging a team that understands both the scientific and administrative demands of MSCA-RISE projects, including researcher mobility and knowledge exchange obligations.

USH has built a network of 14 unique partners across 11 countries through just two projects, indicating they work in broad, geographically diverse consortia typical of MSCA-RISE exchanges. Their reach spans multiple EU and associated countries, though no single geographic cluster dominates.

What sets them apart

USH occupies a rare niche in Romanian academia: a university research group with demonstrated expertise in volatolomics-based animal disease diagnostics, a field where very few Eastern European institutions hold active H2020 track records. Their progression from participant to project coordinator — and the increase in funding from EUR 207K to EUR 446K — signals a credible upward trajectory rather than a one-off involvement. For consortium builders needing a partner combining analytical chemistry, sensor technology, and veterinary application, USH offers a focused profile that is hard to find outside of a handful of specialist labs across Europe.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CANLEISH
  USH's largest project (EUR 446,200) and their first as coordinator, targeting canine leishmaniasis — a neglected disease with no current fast, non-invasive field diagnostic — using an integrated electronic nose and nanomaterial sensor platform.
• bTB-Test
  The foundational project that established USH's volatolomics methodology by profiling VOCs across breath, skin, and feces simultaneously for bovine TB detection, a significant animal health and food safety problem.