CPI enters into an agreement to establish a joint centre with China

Professor Simon Foote, Director of The John Curtin School of Medical Research and Professor Weiping Li, President of the Renji Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for The Centre of Personalised Immunology and Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology, to facilitate cooperation towards the establishment of a Joint Research Centre for Personalised Immunology.  Based on principles of equity and reciprocity, this MoU will serve as a framework for cooperation between the two members of the joint research centre. CPI Director Professor Carola Vinuesa and Professor Nan Shen, Director of Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology will work together to progress the establishment of the joint centre.

"Bringing large patient cohorts together from different continents is essential for the discovery and validation of gene variants causing rare or complex diseases; those damaging variants are otherwise found at very low frequencies in the general population", said Professor Vinuesa.

Professor Nan Shen will visit the CPI in Canberra during the School of Personalised Immunology, 2-3 May 2015.  As well as presenting as a guest lecturer during the School, he will speak at the dinner, discussing genomic medicine in China.

Professor Nan Shen is a Professor of Medicine and Director of Shanghai Institute of Rheumatology, Ren Ji Hospital Shanghai Jiao Tong University, School of Medicine, as well as a Principal Investigator, and Head of Lab of Molecular Rheumatology at the Health Science Institute, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences. He also holds an appointment as Adjunct Professor at the Center for Autoimmune Genomics and Etiology (CAGE), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA.

Pictured: Professor Weiping Li and Professor Simon Foote following the MOU signing in Shanghai.