Neuromuscular Research Center
| About the Center |
Neuromuscular Research Center (NMRC), affiliated with Tehran University of Medical Sciences and Shariati Hospital, was founded in 2022. Our research team comprises clinical experts (neuromuscular neurology, pediatric neurology, physical medicine, Myopathology) and basic science experts (Genetics, Immunology, Neuroscience). We aim to investigate clinical and molecular aspects of different muscle, nerve, neuromuscular junction, and anterior horn cell disorders.
Also, we are expanding our clinical databases on different neuromuscular disorders and aiming to develop a neuromuscular patients’ registry and biobank. Our center has collaborations with many other universities and research centers in Iran and other countries. This shows up as joint studies with other universities or hospitals, participation in multi-site trial consortia, contributions to shared patient registries, and fellowships for visiting researchers.
Here are some examples of our national and international collaborators:
- Professor Reza Boustani, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences
- Dr Keivan Basiri and Dr Behnaz Ansari, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
- Professor Volker Straub, Harold Macmillan Professor of Medicine, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne.
- Professor Shahram Attarian, Head of the reference center for neuromuscular disorders and ALS and coordinator of reference centers of PACA-Réunion-Rhône-Alpes, France.
- Professor Hanns Lochmüller, CHEO Research Institute. University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine and the Ottawa Hospital Department of Medicine.
- Professor Umapathi N. Thirugnanam is a Senior Consultant, Department of Neurology, National Neuroscience Institute and Singapore National Eye Centre
| Research Focus Area |
Different aspects of neuromuscular disorders, including:
- Clinical studies and epidemiology
- Cell biology and immunology
- Genetic testing
- Neurophysiologic Studies
- Muscle and Nerve Pathology
- Neuromuscular Imaging
| Expertise, Facilities & Research Services |
- Neuromuscular projects
- Genetic Laboratory
- Rehabilitation
- National Neuromuscular Patient Registry
- Biobank
- Clinical Trials
- Imaging services such as sonography and MRI
| Collaboration Opportunities |
- Joint research projects
- Student and faculty exchange
- Visiting scholars
- Clinical trials
- Conferences, Symposia and Workshops
| Director & Key Researchers |
- Director: Shahriar Nafissi, MD, Professor of Neurology, Shariati Hospital, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS)
- https://cv.tums.ac.ir/cv/Shahriar_Nafissi
| Selected Achievements |
- Highly cited publications
- Major completed research projects
- Reference center for neuromuscular disorders in Iran
- Organizing Bi-Annual National Neuromuscular Congresses (Two recent events in 2023 and 2025) and many virtual and in-person meetings, schools and workshops
| Why Collaborate with Us? |
We see rare cases in real volume. As a national referral center, patients with specific muscular dystrophy subtypes or rare mitochondrial disorders, different types of polyneuropathy, myasthenia gravis, congenital myasthenic syndromes, and ALS and SMA are referred to our center. No outside institution could recruit such a large volume of rare disease patients alone, and that's what gets a study and a clinical trial enough statistical power to actually mean something.
Track patients for years, and that longitudinal data, plus biobanked genetic and tissue samples, ends up as a resource international consortiums can draw on instead of starting cold.
Our patient population isn't the same as everyone else's. Genetics and environment vary by region, so our center in IRAN may be seeing variants or patterns that just don't turn up elsewhere. We work in a region usually underrepresented in research, which matters for how well results actually generalize.
The short version: rare disease volume, years of tracked data, regulatory groundwork already done, and a different patient population
| Contact Information |
Official name of the Center: Neuromuscular Research Center (NMRC)
Postal Address: 1411713135
Telephone: +98 21 8490 1294
Email: nmrc@tums.ac.ir
Website (if available): https://nmrc.tums.ac.ir
Google Maps location (if available): https://maps.app.goo.gl/x2WAmS6pr7PY9EWGA