Research Center for Translational Medical Devices (CENTMED)

The objective of CENTMED is to catalyze translational research collaborations between researchers at NYUAD and clinicians at medical centers in Abu Dhabi and the UAE. CENTMED is specifically focused on the development of medical device technologies for diagnostics and therapeutics, with a broad goal of advancing Bioinnovation and Health within NYUAD and Abu Dhabi.

The center has three disease focus areas: 1) metabolic, 2) cardiovascular, and 3) neurological disorders. These are relevant to Abu Dhabi given the high prevalence of metabolic non-communicable diseases (NCD) such as obesity and diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and the rising prevalence of neurologic disorders. We have established collaborations with endocrinologists, surgeons, cardiologists, neurologists, and gastroenterologists to identify unmet clinical needs addressable through novel medical devices. Each focus area is led by a primary technical lead from NYUAD and a clinical co-lead from Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (CCAD). Six CENTMED PIs contribute a unique technical skillset and work collaboratively on all projects.

Images showing the scale and parts of NYUAD CENTMED's Pocket-sized ECG Sensor.

Research Clusters

Cluster 1: Metabolic Disease

Technical Lead: Sohmyung Ha, PhD
Clinical Lead: Hussein Saadi, MD

  1. Endoscopic devices for bariatric surgery
  2. Implantable devices for continuous glucose monitoring

Cluster 2: Cardiovascular Disease

Technical Lead: Yong-Ak Song, PhD
Clinical Lead: Firas Al Badarin, MD

  1. Wearables for remote patient monitoring
  2. AI-enhanced medical imaging for early CVD detection

Cluster 3: Neurologic Disease

Technical Lead: Khalil Ramadi, PhD
Clinical Lead: Florian Roser, MD, PhD

  1. Non-invasive neuromodulation
  2. Neural drug delivery

NYUAD Principal Investigators