About Research at Tufts Medical Center

Groundbreaking Research That Touches Every Stage of Life

Tufts Medical Center (Tufts MC) provides care for patients through infancy and childhood and into adulthood. This dedication to exceptional adult and pediatric medical care also inspires and drives our research: our institutes and centers continuously explore and develop new and advanced diagnostics, therapies and methods that touch people in every stage of their lives.

Research Leadership in Boston — and on the National Stage

Research at Tufts MC stands out, even in a national hub of medicine like Boston. A few of our many achievements include:

  • Tufts MC studies have led to the discovery of drugs that prevent the body’s rejection of transplanted organs, coining the term "immunosuppression,” and Illuminated the link between obesity and heart disease.
  • We rank in the top 10 percent of all institutions receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding.
  • Tufts MC's Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (MCRI) scientists are exploring sex differences in cardiovascular disease, aging-associated high blood pressure, signaling pathways within the heart muscle relevant to heart failure, and developing and evaluating circulatory-support devices. 
  • The Mother Infant Research Institute focuses on improving the health of pregnant women and their children and also is home to one of the world’s most respected sub-specialty journals, Prenatal Diagnosis.
  • Tufts MC researchers, supported by a five-year, $40 million NIH grant, are leading a large, multi-center trial to study whether vitamin D can stop pre-diabetes from progressing to diabetes.
  • Tufts MC health economists built and maintain widely known databases, the largest of their kind, on the cost-effectiveness of health interventions and on Medicare coverage decisions.
  • Tufts MC and Tufts University are part of Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI), established in 2008 with a grant from the National Institutes of Health. Tufts CTSI translates research into impact on health by creating a collaborative and innovative research environment where investigators access resources, consultations, training, mentorship and a multi-institutional network to conduct clinical trials.
  • For decades, we’ve made major breakthroughs in the battle against cancer at:
    • Tufts MC Cancer Center, which unites the major clinical, population and basic science cancer research efforts of our medical center with Tufts University’s renowned schools and colleges in the sciences and medicine
    • The Neely Center for Clinical Cancer Research, dedicated to translating findings from clinical trials into new cancer diagnostics and treatments
    • Molecular Oncology Research Institute, where researchers study the biological mechanisms of cancer and apply their basic science research into advancing cancer therapies

Our Mission: to Help People Lead Healthy, Fulfilling Lives

The common thread tying together all of our research is patient well-being. While a number of our programs and clinical studies are born in the imaginations of our investigators, many of our efforts begin with a patient’s or parent’s question: Will I able to walk on my own again? Will my daughter be able to go back to school?

For more than 200 years, our researchers have made a difference by relentlessly pursuing the answers to questions like these, and they will leave no stone unturned to help people today — and future generations —  enjoy the healthiest lives possible.