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Interdisciplinary Research

RAK Medical & Health Sciences University  |  Office of the Vice President for Research & Postgraduate Studies

Interdisciplinary Research at RAKMHSU

At RAK Medical and Health Sciences University, interdisciplinary research is a strategic pathway for addressing the complexity of modern healthcare. Many of today’s most urgent challenges—such as chronic disease, antimicrobial resistance, precision therapeutics, artificial intelligence in healthcare, patient safety, and health systems performance—cannot be solved by a single discipline alone. They require integrated thinking, shared methodologies, and coordinated action across scientific, clinical, technological, and social domains.

Interdisciplinary Research

Research at the Interfaces of Disciplines

RAKMHSU’s interdisciplinary research environment connects its four health sciences colleges—Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, and Nursing—with complementary fields including Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering, Computer Science, and the Social and Behavioural Sciences. Through this model, the University supports research that moves beyond parallel disciplinary contributions toward genuine integration, producing new knowledge, innovative methods, and practical solutions with clinical and societal value.

RAKMHSU has developed this ecosystem in a focused and evidence-based manner. Its interdisciplinary research agenda is supported by advanced research infrastructure including the Translational Medical Research Centre (TMRC), the Central Animal Research Facility (CARF), and the Simulation and Interprofessional Development Center (SIDC), alongside digital research resources, affiliated clinical training hospitals, structured research administration, publication support, and performance evaluation mechanisms. These foundations enable interdisciplinary teams to move from concept development to experimentation, validation, publication, and impact.

Facilities and Infrastructure in Full
Interdisciplinary research teams at work at RAKMHSU
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Health Sciences Colleges
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Complementary Disciplines
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Core Research Facilities
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Pages in This Section

A Culture of Collaboration

The University’s approach is also designed to create visible pathways for collaboration and recognition. Through interdisciplinary research teams, committee oversight, promotion and incentive systems, funding support, partnerships, and evaluation methodologies, RAKMHSU is building a research culture that rewards scientific integration and encourages work at the interfaces of disciplines.

A Transparent Framework

This section of the website presents that framework in a transparent and accessible way. It brings together the University’s concept, strategy, methodology, infrastructure, governance, support systems, teams, evaluation model, selected papers, and dashboard measures of interdisciplinary performance. Together, these pages demonstrate RAKMHSU’s commitment to research excellence and its ambition to contribute meaningfully to interdisciplinary science in the UAE and beyond.

Infrastructure

Three Facilities Behind the Agenda

Interdisciplinary teams draw on shared University infrastructure rather than college-level resources — enabling work to move from concept development to experimentation, validation, publication, and impact.

Translational Medical Research Centre (TMRC)

The University’s hub for translational biomedical research, with six specialist laboratory units serving all four colleges.

Visit the Centre

Central Animal Research Facility (CARF)

A licensed, BSL-2 compliant preclinical research facility supporting ethically conducted in vivo research and disease modelling.

Visit the Centre

Simulation & Interprofessional Development Center (SIDC)

Simulation-based education and interprofessional development, underpinning research into patient safety and clinical practice.

Visit the Centre
Explore

Explore This Section

Within this interdisciplinary research portal, you can explore:

The Concept of Interdisciplinary Research

Understand the foundations and significance of interdisciplinary approaches in health sciences research.

The Concept of Interdisciplinary Research

RAKMHSU Strategy for Interdisciplinary Research

Explore the University’s strategic priorities and long-term vision for interdisciplinary scholarship.

RAKMHSU Strategy for Interdisciplinary Research

Interdisciplinary Research Committee

Meet the governance body overseeing and guiding RAKMHSU’s interdisciplinary research agenda.

Interdisciplinary Research Committee

Interdisciplinary Research Teams

Explore the active interdisciplinary research teams and their areas of collaborative focus.

Interdisciplinary Research Teams

Methodology and Criteria for Interdisciplinary Research

Understand the evaluation framework and criteria used to assess interdisciplinary publications.

Methodology and Criteria for Interdisciplinary Research

Evaluation Methodology

Review the structured methodology used to evaluate and rank interdisciplinary research output.

Evaluation Methodology

Scoring Methodology

Understand the scoring framework applied to interdisciplinary research publications.

Coming soon

Facilities and Infrastructure for Interdisciplinary Research

Discover the research facilities and infrastructure supporting interdisciplinary teams at RAKMHSU.

Facilities and Infrastructure for Interdisciplinary Research

Administrative Support for Interdisciplinary Research

Learn about the systems, processes, and support structures that enable interdisciplinary collaboration.

Administrative Support for Interdisciplinary Research

Promotion, Recognition, and Incentive Systems

Learn how RAKMHSU recognises and rewards interdisciplinary research contributions and achievements.

Promotion, Recognition, and Incentive Systems

Interdisciplinary Research Output

Browse the complete list of ranked interdisciplinary research publications.

Coming soon

Top 10 Interdisciplinary Research Papers — 2025

View the highest-ranked publications with full author details, discipline tags, and publication links.

Top 10 Interdisciplinary Research Papers — 2025

Top 10 Winners

Explore the winning interdisciplinary research contributions and their impact.

Coming soon

RAK Dashboard / Measures of Interdisciplinary Research

Access quantitative indicators and performance metrics tracking RAKMHSU’s interdisciplinary research output.

RAK Dashboard / Measures of Interdisciplinary Research