Kyoto University and UCLA Celebrate Signing of MoU
The agreement will support joint conferences, joint research projects, and cooperation in postgraduate education and training.
On May 26, delegates from Kyoto University and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) met online to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two universities that took place in February of this year. The MoU covers activities between Kyoto University’s Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS); Institute for Advanced Study; and UCLA’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics (MIMG) in the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) and the College of Life Sciences. The new MoU builds upon an ongoing relationship between the two institutions.
At iCeMS, researchers are exploring new fields of scholarship at the boundaries of cell biology and materials science as they investigate the mysteries of life by creating compounds to control cells and design life-inspired functional materials. iCeMS is one of Japan’s World Premiere International Research Centers.
The mission of the UCLA MIMG department is to provide the highest quality research and education possible in the interdisciplinary fields of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics by identifying and addressing the most relevant problems in microbial pathogenesis and physiology, host cell biology and immune defense, and the host-pathogen interface. The department is ranked among the top 10 microbiology departments in the United States.
iCeMS Professor Fuyuhiko Tamanoi has dedicated his life’s research to cancer therapy. He has maintained an affiliation with UCLA for over 25 years. Tamanoi and Professor Jerome Zack, Chair of MIMG, will be cohosting an online bimonthly seminar series focusing on the themes of, “New approaches for cancer radiation therapy,” and “The biology of COVID-19.”
UCLA’s Chancellor Gene Block said, “international connections are vital to UCLA’s three-part mission of education, research and service.” And that, “the importance of those global partnerships only deepened during the pandemic.”
Kyoto University’s President Nagahiro Minato said he is, “looking forward to expanding and exploring new research between the universities,” not just in science but as a necessary discussion of the future direction of the university system.
