The International Federation for Medical and Biological Engineering (IFMBE) is pleased to highlight the designation of the Intelligent Health Technologies Lab (IHT Lab) at the Departmental Faculty of Engineering of Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma as the world’s first World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre on Biomedical Engineering for Global Health.
This landmark designation represents a major achievement for the international biomedical engineering community and confirms the growing contribution of engineering sciences to global health policy, health system resilience, and pandemic preparedness.
The four-year designation, covering the period 2026–2030 and renewable upon evaluation, authorizes the Centre to support WHO, Ministries of Health, governments, and United Nations agencies in developing strategies and policies for medical devices across their full lifecycle — from design and innovation to assessment, procurement, maintenance, and sustainable disposal.
The initiative aligns with the WHO Global Programme of Work 2025–2028 (GPW14), which aims to strengthen equity, resilience, and universal access to healthcare worldwide.
The international leadership of Professor Leandro Pecchia
A key role in this achievement has been played by Professor Leandro Pecchia, Secretary General of IFMBE, the global federation representing the medical and biological engineering community worldwide.
Professor Pecchia has developed a longstanding collaboration with WHO, including serving as WHO Innovation Manager for the WHE IPC programme during the COVID-19 pandemic from 2020 to 2023. During this period, he contributed to the development of innovative technological solutions addressing urgent global health challenges.
Under his coordination, the IHT Lab and UCBM have supported WHO through several strategic institutional assignments, including the coordination of the second edition of the WHO publication Development of Medical Device Policies in 2025, the coordination of the updated WHO guidance Medical Device Donations: Considerations for Solicitation and Provision in 2024, and research initiatives on nanotechnologies to improve the resilience of personal protective equipment against viral threats.
These activities laid the foundation for the WHO Collaborating Centre designation and further strengthened international cooperation between the biomedical engineering community and global health institutions.
Biomedical engineering shaping the future of global health
The new Centre is the first WHO Collaborating Centre worldwide specifically dedicated to biomedical engineering for global health and the only one currently hosted within a faculty of engineering.
This recognition highlights the increasingly strategic role of biomedical engineering in addressing emerging healthcare challenges, including cybersecurity of medical devices, artificial intelligence in healthcare, sustainable and resilient health technologies, and future applications of quantum technologies in medicine and public health.
The Centre will also contribute to the education and training of future biomedical engineers through initiatives such as the recently launched “Information Technology and AI for Global Health” curriculum within the MSc programme in Biomedical Engineering at UCBM.
Engaging the next generation of biomedical engineers
A distinctive aspect of the initiative is the strong involvement of students and early-career researchers in WHO-related activities and international collaboration projects.
Among them is Marianna Zarro, PhD candidate and focal point of the Centre together with Professor Pecchia, who has already contributed to WHO activities during the COVID-19 pandemic and to technical support initiatives related to recent Marburg virus outbreaks.
The Centre aims to provide young biomedical engineers with direct exposure to international organizations, global health policymaking, and multidisciplinary collaboration involving experts from multiple regions of the world.
A milestone for the global biomedical engineering community
This designation represents an important milestone not only for UCBM and Italy, but also for the global biomedical engineering community represented by IFMBE.
It demonstrates how biomedical engineering expertise can directly support international health policy, equitable access to medical technologies, and stronger cooperation between science, engineering, and global institutions.
At a time when global health systems face increasing complexity and geopolitical uncertainty, this recognition reinforces the essential role of biomedical engineers in advancing innovation, preparedness, and international collaboration for the benefit of global health.
IFMBE warmly congratulates Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, the IHT Lab, Professor Leandro Pecchia, and all colleagues involved in this important achievement.