National Economies Are Built on University Ideas and Technology Parks

Mehmet Toner, distinguished professor at Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital and laureate of the Mustafa Prize (PBUH) 2025, described the activities of Iranian tech companies based in the Iran International Innovation District (IIID) as “impressive and advanced,” stressing that modern economies are fundamentally shaped by university-generated ideas and technology parks.

Mehmet Toner, a leading scientist in biomedical engineering and winner of the Mustafa Prize (PBUH) 2025, praised the technological and infrastructural progress of the Iran International Innovation District. He emphasized that the economic future of countries depends on ideas born in universities and their transformation into real-world applications within technology parks.

Toner described the Iran International Innovation District as a large and remarkable environment that can significantly support the practical realization of innovative ideas and the growth of technology-driven businesses.

Highlighting the potential for joint work between international researchers and Iranian companies, he noted that eight Iranian postdoctoral researchers are currently working in his group. He expressed hope to expand this collaboration into new scientific and industrial partnerships with companies based in IIID.

Toner, who works at the intersection of biomedical engineering, cancer diagnostics, organ transplantation, and tissue engineering, is regarded as one of the pioneers in the design of circulating tumor cell microchips—technologies that have brought about a major transformation in cancer monitoring and treatment pathways.