Peking University Health Science Center (PUHSC) emphasizes substantial win-win cooperation in scientific research. In recent years, PUHSC has established quite a number of international cooperative research centers. (e.g.  Sino-Swedish Joint Research Center, Sino-Austrian Biomarker Center, PUHSC-Toyama University Joint Pharmaceutical Research Center, Sino-Australian Center for Excellence in Stem Cell Sciences, PUHSC-UMHS Joint Institute for Translational and Clinical Research)

• PUHSC-UMHS Joint Institute for Translational and Clinical Research

Peking University Health Science Center and the University of Michigan Health System formally established the PUHSC-UMHS Joint Institute for Translational and Clinical Research in October 2010. The Joint Institute (JI) is a platform for collaboration between the two universities, and both sides fund cooperative translational and clinical research projects. The Joint Institutes’s research programs focus on four pervasive medical conditions: Pulmonary disease, cardiovascular disease, liver disease and renal disease, and teams of experts from both universities have formed collaborative relationships to address the research challenges in each of the four areas. Additionally, three research cores: biorepository and biomedical informatics, IRB/human subject protection, and science of collaboration, have been established to support productive collaboration.

Translational medicine involves using laboratory and clinical research findings to improve disease prevention and treatment, and to inform health care policies. Translational and clinical research is still a relatively new discipline in China, and the Joint Institute allows both partners to leverage each other’s strengths to improve and promote the translation of research findings into high-quality clinical care.