2015-04-21

April 17 saw the renewal ceremony of the SUMC-Manitoba Joint Lab of Biological Psychiatry at the Shantou University Mental Health Center. A renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Dr. Patrick Choy, Special Advisor to the President and Medical Dean of the University of Manitoba and Prof. Junhui Bian, SUMC Executive Dean on behalf of the two universities.

The ceremony was attended by Dr. Patrick C. Choy and other six delegates from the University of Manitoba as well as SUMC Dean Junhui Bian, Dr. Frieda Law, Executive Director of Li Ka Shing STU Foundation and Consultant of SUMC, Dr. Fujun Jia, Director of Guangdong Mental Health Center, and some senior representatives of the Shantou University Mental Health Center. The ceremony was hosted by Prof. Qingjun Huang, Director of the center.

The SUMC-Manitoba Joint Lab of Biological Psychiatry was founded in 2012. Since its inception, both parties have been active in close cooperation in research, faculty and staff development, and academic exchange. The joint lab has produced 35 SCI papers, obtained one national research grant and three provincial research grants, and recruited one professional with international experience and two SUMC-Manitoba joint PhDs. In addition, both parties have jointly developed several joint research projects on schizophrenia and emotional disorders, and have jointly hosted two Guangdong-Canada Biological Psychiatry Symposia. In the near future, both parties will continue to strengthen their cooperation in joint research as well as student and faculty exchange. They aimed at developing the joint lab into an internationally renowned lab in the field of biological psychiatry in the next five years.