Our faculty members invest substantial significance into interdisciplinary cooperation and strategic teamwork while conducting their own independent research in order to make quality and original contributions to universal science as well as to influence intellectual, technological, economic and social development of Türkiye.
Koç University Hospital provides a unique setting for translational medical research with research laboratories located right within the center of its premises. We aspire to keep pushing the limits of universal science forward with laboratories fully equipped with facilities of the most advanced technology available and highly qualified human resources.
In addition to baseline scientific research,
phase I-IV trial studies are successfully conducted at the Clinical Research Center of Koç University Hospital. The Phase 1 Clinical Research Center, as
Türkiye’s first high-risk drug research center, upholds its own quality and audit system and includes 7 single-person volunteer rooms, a laboratory/drug preparation area, pharmacy, recreational and mess areas, personnel rooms and an archive. The Clinical Research Unit is reinforced with all types of hardware, equipment and human resources capable of providing any scientific and technical support that may be required at any stage of a clinical research from designing studies to timely and effective completion. Specialized in coordination of clinical studies, our team members ensure compliance to national and international legal and regulatory requirements, Good Clinical Practice Guidelines (GCP), International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) and the Declaration of Helsinki.
It is our objective to ensure that our medical students, assistants and physicians from around the world attending our hospital for training and education purposes leave as empathic individuals with a high level of communication skills, who do not view their patients merely as a compendium of complaints and laboratory results, but rather as a whole with their emotions and social circumstances.
Physicians of Koç University Hospital embrace these qualities while rendering clinical services and educational activities, and pay due attention to physical and mental wellbeing, privacy and dignity of both patients and students of all levels. Our students and assistants get involved in every step of patient treatment and care under direct supervision and accountability of our physicians and faculty members as per approval of our patients. While not an obligatory part of the services we offer, this is a contribution we are determined to make for a brighter future in Turkish medicine.
AIMES
Rahmi M. Koç Advanced Interventional Medicine, Education and Simulation Center (RMK AIMES) aims not only to serve medical and nursing students of Koç University and medical professionals of Koç Healthcare, but also strives to improve medical services in the overall region with an advanced educational approach.
Utilization of simulation in medical education combines traditional classroom learning with actual clinical practice. The primary objective of medical simulation is to reduce preventable medical errors that can be associated with the human factor. The scope of medical simulation, which is conducted in a safe learning environment, covers simpler technical skills such as administering injections to more complicated ones like cardiac catheterization. Simulation may also concentrate on promotion of non-technical skills of an individual, including decision making, leadership, effective teamwork and communication.
Visit the AIMES website for further information.
KUTTRC
KUTTRC aims to promote development of biomedical devices with high added value on the basis of scientific research and local means, and encourage and support research to be conducted in this regard.
For this purpose, the center prioritizes establishing national and international collaboration in addition to forming a bridge between industrialists and scientists. The extraordinary knowledge acquired from projects run by our researchers is dedicated to creation of next-gen diagnostic and treatment methods, and makes it possible to enhance public welfare.
The most important feature of the Koç University Hospital Clinical Trials Unit (CTU) is that it provides volunteers with quality healthcare services and improves their access to new treatment methods and drugs in a safe environment. Our research and development efforts, particularly focused on combating cancer, not only contribute to science but also offer hope to patients. Innovative drug and medical device research, some of which are first-in-human, provides our volunteers valuable access to new treatments. Our Unit provides a workspace for physician-scientists and nurses in the field of clinical research. With its “Phase 1 Clinical Research Center,” the CTU is one of the few exemplary clinical research centers in Türkiye and neighboring countries. In our center, Phase 1-2-3 drug studies and medical device studies are conducted.
The Unit has 7 patient beds in the Phase 1 Center, 4 outpatient examination rooms and its own pharmacy and laboratory. The Unit currently runs 30+ clinical trials in partnership with global pharmaceutical and medical device companies as well as distinguished academic centers including Oxford University and Mayo Clinic.
Thanks to our strategic collaborations with BioNTech and other partners, as well as the quality healthcare services of Koç University Hospital, we bring innovative medical technologies such as mRNA-based cancer vaccines, immunotherapies, and cell therapies to patients in Türkiye.
Our Unit is fully licensed by the Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency and partners with Mayo Clinic to improve the quality of clinical trials.
To learn more about our ongoing studies, you can review the list on this page and contact our respective physician.
You can get detailed information by clicking on the Clinical Research Unit web page.
KUISCID
Koç University İşbank Center for Infectious Diseases was founded in December 20 of 2020, in the middle of devastating COVID-19 pandemic.
In the century that we live, there were newly emerging infections. SARS-CoV outbreak emerged in 2003. New influenza types and their outbreaks, avian flu in 2005, swine flu in 2009 were all new global threats for Public Health. Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, Hantaviruses, West Nile Fever were newly detected between 2000 and 2010.
Koç University School of Medicine founded in 2010, while we were living in the first pandemic of the 21th century, which was Influenza A H1N1. The newly founded School of Medicine with full of enthusiasm, identified three major challenging research areas to distinguish its existence. Emerging infections was one of these three major challenging areas. By this decision, Biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory was included in the construction of the new hospital building which was completed in 2015.
TIREX
Koç University (KU), with its research infrastructure and internationally recognized transplant surgeons and scientists is well-suited to take a leading role in Transplantation Immunology research in the country and the region. Transplant Immunology Research Centre of Excellence (TIREX) is designed to capitalize on these strengths and to create a hub for translational research to improve the lives of transplant recipients. This idea of creating a hub in Istanbul, where the West meets the East, stems from the fact that there is considerable unexploited potential in South-Eastern Europe in the field of Transplantation Immunology. Well-structured organ transplant centres performing high number of successful organ transplantations exist not only in Türkiye but also in surrounding countries, offering numerous possibilities for clinical as well as basic research. TIREX is ideally located to tap into this potential and connect it with the well-established international research and clinical communities in Middle-East and Asia. In short, TIREX, once reached its full potential, will be a key centre linking local and regional research capacities with the main European Centres of Excellence.
Dr. Ihsan Solaroğlu took a leading role in the TIREX project by securing a 2.5M EUR HORIZON2020 grant from the European Union (EU). Over the past decade, Dr. Solaroğlu significantly transformed the research landscape at KU by bringing together talented scientists from all over the world, cultivating a collaborative and visionary research culture, and securing over 11M EUR in funding from national and international sources. As the Founding Director of the KU Research Center for Translational Medicine (KUTTAM), Director of the Graduate School of Health Sciences, Vice-Dean for Research, and head of the KU Clinical Trials Unit, his efforts have been instrumental in driving innovative laboratory and clinical approaches that will benefit patients across the EU.
As TIREX continues to develop its infrastructure and build its team, we encourage you to stay informed about our progress by visiting our website regularly.