March 2012 Regenerative Medicine and Life Sciences Research lead to MOUs in China for NUI Galway

Pictured this week in China where NUI Galway announced collaborations with both Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) and the Fourth Medical Military University Hospital in Xi’an as part of the Trade and Investment Mission to Shanghai and Beijing by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister Richard Bruton TD (back row, l-r):  President Wei Cai SJTU; An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD;  Minister Richard Bruton TD;  Professor Sanbing Shen, REMEDI, NUI Galway;  Frank Ryan, Enterprise Ireland. Front:  Dr Jim Browne, President NUI Galway and Professor Lin He, Director of Bio-X Institutes, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

Pictured this week in China where NUI Galway announced collaborations with both Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Fourth Medical Military University Hospital in Xi’an as part of the Trade and Investment Mission to Shanghai and Beijing by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister Richard Bruton TD (back row, l-r): Professor Lin He, Director of Bio-X Institutes; An Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD; Minister Richard Bruton TD; Professor Sanbing Shen, REMEDI, NUI Galway; Frank Ryan, Enterprise Ireland. Front: Dr Jim Browne, President NUI Galway and President Wei Cai, Shanghai Jiao Tong University.

NUI Galway is delighted to announce collaborations with both Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Fourth Medical Military University Hospital in Xi’an as part of the Trade and Investment Mission to Shanghai and Beijing this week by An Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister Richard Bruton TD.

The Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) based at NUI Galway has signed collaborative agreements with the Shanghai Institute for Pediatric Research, Bio-X Institutes and the Tangdu Neurosurgery & Neurology Hospital, research institutes based in two leading Chinese Universities, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an. Funded by Science Foundation Ireland, REMEDI is Ireland’s leading research institute in the area of regenerative medicine and stem cell research.

The agreement will see REMEDI work closely with both Chinese partners in a number of research areas and will facilitate student and researcher exchange between Galway and China.  At the signing were NUI Galway President, Dr Jim Browne and Professor Sanbing Shen, who recently moved to Galway and REMEDI as Professor of Stem Cell Biology.

Through Professor Sanbing Shen and Professor Tim O’Brien, REMEDI Director, NUI Galway is developing formal partnerships in the area of regenerative medicine and life sciences with research Institutes at the Shanghai Jiaotong University which has over 10 affiliated hospitals in Shanghai, and with Fourth Medical Military University Hospitals in Xi’an, which is considered to be one of the top three medical universities in China and has pioneered neurosurgery and transplant procedures in China.

One of the first joint projects will involve Professor Shen, who is developing cutting edge induced pluripotent stem cell (iPS) technology at REMEDI.  iPS technology involves generating “embryonic-like” stem cells from adult cells and has been hailed as one of the top scientific breakthroughs in the last number of years.  REMEDI will also work with both Chinese institutes to develop joint clinical trial programmes in the area of regenerative medicine.

Professor Tim O’Brien, Director of REMEDI at NUI Galway: “REMEDI's commitment to clinical trials of treatment using adult stem cells will be greatly enhanced by these collaborations as both institutions have similar scientific and clinical interests as NUI Galway. This will provide for much more extensive patient involvement in clinical trials, as well as the sharing of expertise in the design of the trials and the analysis of the resulting data.”

Speaking at the singing of the Memoranda of Understanding in both Shanghai and Beijing, President of NUI Galway, Dr Jim Browne said: “These partnerships will see NUI Galway and these two significant Chinese universities develop joint research programmes which will encourage the exchange of faculty, researchers, and graduate students with the objective of fostering academic cooperation and collaboration between both parties.  NUI Galway has a range of excellent relationships with Chinese higher education institutions in areas from marine science to engineering to human rights.  These new agreements in the area of regenerative medicine with our Chinese partners will bring new and positive developments to our activities in the biosciences.”  

In addition to signing these agreements President Browne hosted a reception for Chinese-based alumni of NUI Galway.  Almost 90 Galway graduates are based in China and the event attracted almost a third of these to a reception in central Beijing. Among those alumni and friends in attendance were Tsingua University academic, Professor Yu Ming and his wife Betty Liao and Mr Zhou Ji, former Minister of Education in China.

For further information on REMEDI see http://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/listings/regenerative-medicine.html). 

ENDS