President Xu Ningsheng meeting with the JHU delegation
 

During the meeting, President Xu Ningsheng extended a warm welcome to Vice President Paul B. Rothman and introduced SYSU’s international development strategy. He said that SYSU attaches great importance to the cooperation with JHU, and he hoped the two universities will further strengthen collaborations in medical fields, and promote research innovations and faculty exchanges.

In the morning on August 30, the Signing Ceremony of Memorandum of Understanding on Phase II Collaboration between Sun Yat-sen University and Johns Hopkins University was held on North Campus of SYSU. Prof. Paul B. Rothman, Vice President for Medicine of the Johns Hopkins University; Prof. Arian Dobs, Director of Johns Hopkins Clinical Research Network; Prof. Li Mengfeng, Vice President of SYSU; and leaders from different administrative departments and affiliated hospitals of SYSU attended the signing ceremony.

 

It is learned that the first phase of the collaboration between SYSU and JHU was focused on medical training, seed fund projects, infrastructure assessment and system construction with the aim to build a world-class clinical and translational research center. Since 2013, the two sides have held many seminars, lectures and exchanges to implement the collaborations. On the basis of the achievements in the first phase of the collaboration, SYSU and JHU will continue the long-term partnership, construct the international joint research center, and meanwhile expand the collaborations to medical education, residency training and medical services to improve the international development of medical sciences at SYSU.

After the signing ceremony, Prof. Paul B. Rothman give a lecture entitled “Promoting excellence in clinical care, research and education in a U.S. academic medical center”.
 

Prof. Paul B. Rothman (left on front row), Vice President for Medicine of JHU, and Prof. Li Mengfeng (right on front row), Vice President of SYSU,
signing the Memorandum of Understanding on Phase II Collaboration
 

In the afternoon on August 30, the JHU delegation, SYSU-JHU Collaboration Workgroup and relevant representatives held a panel discussion. SYSU scholars shared their study experience at JHU. Prof. Zhu Qingtang, a member of Prof. Liu Xiaolin’s research team at The First Affiliated Hospital, introduced their translational medical project on tissue-engineered nerve grafts.

In the morning on August 31, the two sides held a seminar on medical education and clinical training. In the afternoon, the JHU delegation visited the SYSU Medical Simulation Center and held a discussion with clinical skills trainers and award-winning students. On September 1, the JHU delegation toured The First Affiliated Hospital of SYSU and visited its newly-built ICU and Operating Rooms. They also held a meeting with specialists and scholars at the hospital.

It is learned that Johns Hopkins Medicine operates six academic and community hospitals. Prof. Paul B. Rothman is the CEO and it is his first visit to Guangzhou. In May, 2014, the international joint lab for clinical and translational medicine at SYSU, one of the SYSU-JHU collaboration fruits, was recognized as the National Joint Research Lab by the Ministry of Education of China.