Thumbay Group launches new International Research Centre in Ajman

UAE—Thumbay Group has broken ground on the Thumbay International Research Centre, a purpose-built six-storey facility in Al Jurf, Ajman, marking a significant step in its efforts to strengthen medical research, innovation, and precision medicine in the UAE.

Designed to bring scientific discovery, diagnostics, and clinical care together under one roof, the new centre will create a collaborative environment where researchers, clinicians, and healthcare innovators can work side by side.

The facility will occupy approximately 3,000 square metres and will comprise a ground floor, five upper levels, and a rooftop, reaching a height of 27.75 metres.

The project is being developed within Ajman’s growing healthcare and academic ecosystem, enabling research teams to collaborate closely with healthcare practitioners from the outset.

 According to Thumbay Group, the facility has been designed to support the entire research pipeline, from early-stage scientific exploration to clinical application.

Dedicated spaces for advanced research

The first floor will house start-up laboratories, an incubation centre, and an advanced augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) laboratory to support healthcare innovation and entrepreneurship.

General-purpose wet laboratories will occupy the second floor, while the third floor will focus on experimental oncology research.

The fourth floor will be dedicated to genomics, next-generation sequencing, and bioinformatics, reflecting the growing importance of precision medicine and data-driven healthcare.

Meanwhile, the fifth floor will accommodate preclinical research facilities, including animal research units and a dedicated zebrafish laboratory used in disease modelling and drug discovery studies.

The ground floor will feature a 110-seat seminar hall and a shared imaging core facility to support education, collaboration, and advanced diagnostics.

Supporting Gulf Medical University’s research vision

The groundbreaking ceremony took place at Dusit Ajman Resort & Villas under the patronage of Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman and Chairman of the Ajman Executive Council. The event was hosted by Dr. Thumbay Moideen, Founder President of Thumbay Group.

The Thumbay International Research Centre will serve as the permanent home of the research ecosystem at Gulf Medical University, supporting researchers, faculty members, and students across its colleges of Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, Health Sciences, Nursing, Veterinary Medicine, and AI in Healthcare.

Dr. Moideen said the new facility represents the next phase of Thumbay Group’s long-term investment in healthcare, education, and scientific research.

“Our vision is to bring discovery, diagnosis, and treatment together,” he said, noting that the organisation has spent nearly three decades building hospitals, healthcare services, and medical education infrastructure across the UAE.

The centre will also become the new home of the Thumbay Research Institute for Precision Medicine (TRIPM), which currently operates within existing university facilities.

Expanding research capacity and innovation

Prof. Manda Venkatramana, Chancellor of Gulf Medical University, said the centre will provide researchers and students with infrastructure capable of supporting internationally competitive studies while strengthening the university’s ambition to become a research-intensive institution.

The facility is expected to bring together doctoral researchers, genomics specialists, health-tech entrepreneurs from the GMU Startup Lab, and experts from the Thumbay Institute for AI in Healthcare.

This multidisciplinary approach is intended to accelerate innovation and foster collaboration across emerging fields of medicine and technology.

Prof. Salem Chouaib, Director of TRIPM, said the centre will support advanced immunotherapy studies, genomics research, liquid biopsy programmes, and preclinical investigations through dedicated facilities and specialised equipment.

Dh3 Million research grant awarded

Alongside the groundbreaking ceremony, Thumbay Group announced the second cycle of its Thumbay International Research Grant programme, awarding AED 3 million (US$817,000) to 13 research projects involving investigators from 26 countries, working in partnership with researchers at Gulf Medical University.

The funded projects span precision oncology, drug discovery, cochlear implant research, artificial intelligence in medical education, and veterinary diabetes research.

The programme includes collaborations with leading international institutions, including Harvard Medical School, Baylor University, Washington University in St. Louis, University of Arizona, University of Waterloo, Erasmus University Rotterdam, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

Thumbay Group also announced plans to launch a third cycle of the grant programme to further expand its global research network.