National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Tainan, southern Taiwan, signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ohio State University (OSU) College of Pharmacy on March 20 at the NCKU College of Medicine as part of its effort to enhance its international academic cooperation and most importantly to improve the clinical research on pancreatic cancer.
Under the agreements, both universities will launch joint projects in pancreatic cancer research to develop effective diagnostic markers and therapeutic agents for this malignancy.
Huey-Jen Jenny Su, ScD, Executive Vice President of NCKU on behalf of NCKU President Hwung-Hweng Hwung, signed the MOU with Dean Robert Brueggemier, College of Pharmacy, OSU, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
The goal of the cooperating institutions is to promote scientific research and enhance understanding and collaboration between the faculties and students of NCKU College of Medicine and affiliated hospital, and OSU College of Pharmacy, according to the MOU.
In her welcoming speech, Dr. Su said that the MOU signing ceremony between NCKU and OSU is a milestone for the productive cooperation between the two prominent institutions.
Dean Chyi-Her Lin, College of Medicine, NCKU, welcomed the OSU delegation, "this event would have not been possible without the efforts from Prof. Brueggemier and Prof. Ching-Shih Chen, Dr. Kenneth Hale and Dr. Milap Nahata from OSU."
Over the years, NCKU had numerous exchange programs with OSU and today by signing this MOU, we began a new era, Dean Lin acclaimed, and the signing of MOU will not only solidify the new drug development research as well as foster new clinical and translational research between both cancer research centers, but also improve the pancreatic cancer research between both institutes.
Dean Brueggemier enjoyed his first visit to Tainan very much and hailed the opportunity to collaborate with NCKU as "the program is strong and the discovery is fruitful from both universities in the area of pancreatic cancer research, it is exciting to see over the next several years the research and clinical therapy comes from the program accordingly."
The OSU-NCKU satellite laboratory with a focus on new therapeutic development and biomarker identification for pancreatic cancer will be established at the Cancer Center of NCKU Hospital in this August.
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