UAB to work with biomedical research centres in Korea

From 17 to 19 February the city of Daegu, South Korea, will host the second meeting of the International Medical Research Association (IMRA) which includes members of UAB and eight research institutions of South Korea. This meeting is the continuation of last year's reunion which took place at the UAB campus and will serve to set the bases for new joint research projects and new lines of academic collaborations in the fields of biomedicine and nanotechnology, fields in which UAB is recognised as Campus of International Excellence. It will also focus on increasing student and research mobility with South Korea, a strategic country for the internationalisation programme of UAB, which opened an office in Seoul in 2009.

16/02/2011

The over 30 conferences will focus on subjects such as the future of IMRA or issues related to different aspects of biomedical research (gene therapy, nanotechnology applied to the health field, biochemistry, etc.) applied to the treatment of degenerative diseases, e.g. Alzheimer's disease, or genetic ones such as cancer.

Future collaborations will be specified with the implementation of new joint research projects and the creation of "co-advisors" for doctoral theses. Thus there will be an increase in the mobility of both UAB and South Korean research staff.

Attending on behalf of UAB will be Mercè Unzeta, Vice Rector for International Relations, and researchers from the Institute of Neurosciences, the Catalan Institute of Nanotechnology, the Institute of Biotechnology and Biomedicine, the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology and Research Institute.

IMRA will give a boost to the development and internationalisation of UAB's biomedical and nanotechnological research, two of the top fields included in the commitment to "Promoting Knowledge, Encouraging Innovation" for which UAB received recognition as a Campus of International Excellence.

Academic collaboration

In addition to scientific collaborations, IMRA will promote joint academic projects, fostering the creation of joint master's degrees and exchange programmes for both South Korean and UAB students. For example, a new master's degree in Asian medicine will be created with the aim of training experts in this discipline who can later work officially in Europe in this field.

In this manner new exchange circuits will be made available for students interested in this country. The project thus represents a step further in UAB's commitment with South Korea, which began with the opening of a UAB office in the city of Seoul to act as a liaison between the university and Korean academic and research institutions. The office in Seoul is one of the main organisers of the IMRA meeting.

Leading centres of South Korea

IMRA members includes UAB and eight research institutions of South Korea. The association was created in 2009 and will allow members to collaborate in high-tech medical research projects in the fields of neurology, biology and regenerative medicine. The UAB office in Seoul and the research park Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority are in charge of coordinating IMRA activities.

This association was created due to the fact that Korean institutions work in research lines very similar to those carried out at UAB in the fields of biomedicine and nanotechnology. The Korean Government also gives firm support to the development of these sectors.

In addition to UAB, association members include Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone Authority, Catholic University of Daegu, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science & Technology, Daegu Haany University, Keimyung University, Kyungpook National University, Pohang University of Science and Technology and Yeungman University.