Med School Gets China Syndrome
Worcester biotech and medical researchers pride themselves on their collaborative work, and on May 8 some of those efforts were formalized.
The University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester and Tongji University School of Medicine in Shanghai, China, signed an agreement to further international cooperation in human stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.
Cooperative Pact
The agreement means that the East China Stem Cell Bank at Tongji University and the Massachusetts Stem Cell Bank and International Stem Cell Registry at UMass Medical can now share stem cell lines and information about their properties and applications.
It’s another step in making the Massachusetts Stem Cell Bank an international resource, not just one for researchers in the Bay State, the Northeast or America.
The state did its part in 2007 when it earmarked $8.2 million to establish the stem cell bank and the International Stem Cell Registry at UMass Medical.
The registry and stem cell bank are located at the school’s Shrewsbury campus.
Following the signing ceremony at 2:30 p.m. that day, there was a lecture at 4 p.m. given by Dr. Guotong Xu, who is the executive deputy dean at Tongji University, on the development of new therapeutic strategies for the treatment of diabetic retinopathy.
The lecture was a great, practical topper to the ceremony and is another marker that the agreement isn’t just for show.
Collaborating with Tongji’s East China Stem Cell Bank is important because it is one of four major components of China’s stem cell research network.
Eastern China is where a lot of important Chinese stem cell research scientists are located.
When UMass Medical’s Human Stem Cell Bank and International Stem Cell Registry were proposed and funded by the state, UMass Medical School Chancellor Michael F. Collins said the university was looking forward to establishing them both, and hopefully in the process they would help attract and retain researchers and companies to the school and the state.
The agreement is another step in that direction. The more work that goes on here at UMass Medical, the stronger it, the area and the state become scientifically and economically.
This formal agreement is an outgrowth of years of informal collaboration between researchers at the two universities.
In fact, earlier this year in February, they signed a larger agreement to work together in creating long-term educational exchange programs, joint studies, research and training at a ceremony at UMass Medical’s Worcester campus.
They’ve now formalized their intent to collaborate on stem cell research, and have also agreed to formalize collaboration on medical education curriculum design and student exchange.
The agreement signed in February also stated that the goal of the partnership is to create a framework of regular exchanges between the two institutions around faculty, post-doctoral fellows, students and clinicians.
But the greatest outcome would be if the sharing of stem cell lines and information actually led to a major discovery or even better, a discovery that meant a cure for just one disease.
That would be something to celebrate with joint ceremonies in Worcester and Shanghai.
Got news for our Biotech Buzz column? E-mail WBJ Staff Writer Eileen Kennedy at ekennedy@wbjournal.com.
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