On 23 May, 2017, Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIMM) and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) launched the Joint Research Center on Systems and Personalized Pharmacology (SIMMUO Joint Research Center).

This first-of-a-kind research center is founded based on the SIMM-uOttawa joint translational "omics" laboratory established in 2012, which has already led to fruitful joint publications, cross-training of students and professors, and symposia in Shanghai and Ottawa.

The agreement on this new research center was signed in Shanghai by SIMM Director General JIANG Hualiang and uOttawa President Jacques Fremont, as well as colleagues respectively from SIMM and uOttawa. The center will be funded from both sides and allow exchange of researchers and students between both institutions.

“Today, the inauguration of an upgraded Joint Research Center is to strengthen and enlarge our collaborations in drug research fields to be more complementary and comprehensive by means of intensive collaborative activities between SIMM and uOttawa. SIMMUO Joint Research Center symbolizes that uOttawa and SIMM is exploring a new type of strategic partnership, more vibrant, diverse and prospective, which opens a new era of our solid friendship”, Prof. JIANG Hualiang commented after the signing ceremony.

“I am very optimistic that SIMMUO Joint Research Center will provide new opportunities to researchers and graduate students at SIMM side to learn from their counterparts in uOttawa and to create a world-leading research power on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), systems and personalized pharmacology. I am looking forward to a closer cooperation on graduate student exchange with the integration of uOttawa, UCAS and SIMM facilities and resources”, said Prof. DING Jian, Academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering and Dean of the School of Pharmacy, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

uOttawa President Jacques Fremont welcomed “more international opportunities for our students and professors and those of our partners in China”. Prof. Mona Nemer, Vice president of Research, uOttawa looked forward to more health research projects with the new and exciting venture as the platform.

“Health cooperation has long been part of the foundation of Canada-China relations,” said Weldon Epp, Consulate General of Canada in Shanghai. “This new joint research center takes this cooperation to an important new level. Congratulations to both partners”.

The research fields of this center include joint research on the natural products of herbals from Traditional Chinese Medicine and Canadian Natives, drug research on cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases, as well as compounds screening and validation for infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV and tuberculosis. The new center will also bring more educational opportunities for both scientists and students through visiting programs, joint research training, and joint seminars and symposia.