UC San Diego, Taiwan's Academia Sinica to Collaborate on Research

Chi-Huey Wong

UC San Diego and Taiwan's Academia Sinica have agreed to collaborate across a broad range of research areas. The agreement will be signed by Chancellor Marye Anne Fox for UC San Diego and President Chi-Huey Wong for Academia Sinica on March 23 on the La Jolla campus.

As part of the research collaboration, UC San Diego will accept graduate students and postdoctoral scholars from Taiwan. Biomedical research will be the primary focus of the partnership, but projects will span other disciplines as well, including bioengineering, chemistry, oceanography, medicine and pharmacology, among others.

“Academia Sinica is the premier research institution in Taiwan, providing support for cutting-edge scientific study in a diverse array of disciplines," said Fox. "It is a privilege to collaborate with such a strong and distinguished group of scientists.”

Academia Sinica is Taiwan's equivalent to the U.S. National Academies and plays a role similar to those of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine, as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Following the signing, President Wong will also present a special seminar, "From Chemical Glycobiology to Translational Innovation," from noon to 1 p.m. in the Health Sciences Education Center Auditorium in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

In addition to his role in Academia Sinica, Wong is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World. He also serves as professor of chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute.

The signing and the seminar will be hosted by UC San Diego's Shu Chien, professor of bioengineering in the Jacobs School of Engineering and recent recipient of the National Medal of Science, and Palmer Taylor, associate vice chancellor for Health Sciences and dean of the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

The lead faculty members and academic units in the collaboration are Chien, for Bioengineering and the Institute of Engineering in Medicine; and Taylor, for the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences.

"We welcome the opportunity this agreement represents for both institutions," said UC San Diego Vice Chancellor for Research Sandra A. Brown. "We look forward to the research ties and beneficial discoveries that such collaborations encourage."

Academia Sinica, the preeminent academic institution in Taiwan, was founded in 1928 to promote and undertake scholarly research in sciences and humanities. Many of its 24 research institutes and seven research centers are headed by world-renowned scholars and staffed by creative young investigators.