On October 6, 2023, NYCU achieved a significant milestone in international medical collaboration in Boston, United States. Led by Vice President Muh-Hwa Yang, the Cancer and Immunology Research Center collaborated with Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), the second-largest teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard Medical School, and Taiwan’s NHRI Immunology Research Center. The consensus reached by these three entities is to jointly promote medical cooperation and substantive exchanges to foster Taiwan-US collaboration in healthcare.
This memorandum of cooperation was jointly signed by Professor Muh-Hwa Yang, who concurrently serves as the director of the Cancer and Immunology Research Center, Dr. Vijay K. Kuchroo, director of the Gene Lay Institute of Immunology and Inflammation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), and Professor Shie-Liang Hsieh, an outstanding alumnus of NYCU and the current director of the NHRI Immunology Research Center. According to the memorandum, the three parties have agreed upon three main objectives: facilitating learning exchanges for researchers and students to nurture professional talents, jointly organizing lectures or seminars to deepen scientific research collaboration and promoting collaborative research projects to enhance international academic exchanges.
During the negotiation meetings, Professor Muh-Hwa Yang introduced the highlights of translational medical research within the university to the American side. Specifically, the research on HPV(-) specific types in head and neck cancer among Taiwanese individuals is slated as a prospective area for in-depth collaboration. Professor Hsieh Shih-Liang also elucidated to the American side about NHRI’s key research and development goals in cancer immunology, immune aging, chronic inflammation, and infectious diseases. The Kuchroo team provided an overview of their recent outstanding achievements in research on inflammatory-related diseases and immune oncology. Through the signing of this memorandum of cooperation, representatives from the three parties engaged in face-to-face discussions, deliberating on collaboration methods and strategies, particularly in the field of cutting-edge translational medicine, aiming to jointly promote teaching and thematic research collaborations.
This collaboration with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in the United States has been facilitated by Gene Lay, the founder of BioLegend, a Taiwanese entrepreneur. Anticipating mutual progress in academic foundations, all parties aspire to advance Taiwan-US collaboration in the paths of medical education, research, and innovation.”
