KGI Signs Cooperation Agreement with Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil
KGI’s President Sheldon Schuster has signed a cooperation agreement with Dr. Carlos Eduardo Negrao, dean, Escola Educacao, Universidade de São Paulo (USP) in Brazil. The primary purpose of the agreement is to promote and facilitate bioscience research collaboration between the faculty and students of the two institutions. The agreement will allow for mutually beneficial activities such as joint submission of grants and other funding proposals to foundations and agencies that support international and global health interests in science, public policy, economics and ethics.
“We are thrilled to have signed this agreement with USP. The quality and scope of their research programs represent an enormous opportunity for KGI students and faculty going forward, and, likewise, we are looking forward to welcoming USP students and faculty onto our campus,” Schuster said.
With approximately 90,000 students, USP is the largest university in Brazil and one of the largest institutions of higher education in Latin America. It is also the only Latin American university to be cited on Times Higher Education's list of the world's top 200 universities for 2011-2012 and was categorized in the cluster between 101st and 150th by the widely known Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), a publication compiled by the Shanghai Jiaotong University to rank universities globally.
The agreement is particularly welcome news for Dr. Ian Phillips, Norris Professor of Applied Life Sciences and director of the Center for Rare Disease Therapies.
For the past five years, Phillips has been collaborating with USP’s Dr. Edilamar Menezes de Oliveira on stem cell and cardiovascular research. “We have worked together on the molecular changes that occur to make a heart healthy as opposed to pathological,” Phillips said. “In recent years, the Brazilian government has greatly increased funding for this type of research, and we have been part of a grant funded in Brazil. This agreement will open doors for more cooperative projects for KGI faculty and is a good example of how the institute can strengthen its own research through international collaboration.”
Dr. de Oliveira added: “The collaborative agreement between the USP and KGI will open research opportunities for visiting professors and short-term student and postdoc research projects from both institutes. The research and training will include medical science and global health.”