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International Collaborations

The Faculty of Medicine has established a number of partnerships with leading international institutions over the past decade. These programs have served to enhance our research capacity by working with leaders around the globe to further our strategic goals.

Ongoing Collaborations

University of Ottawa / Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica

The University of Ottawa and Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM) established the Joint Centre on Systems and Personalized Medicine in 2017. The Centre works to 1) develop new reagents, drugs and associated biomarkers that can be used for personalized medicine; 2) increase the number of collaborative projects between researchers and research groups from SIMM and the University of Ottawa; and 3) to train students and postdoctoral fellows. In 2019, the Joint Centre successfully developed 5 partnerships between uOttawa and SIMM researchers in the areas of systems and personalized medicine, in addition to two ongoing partnership projects. Many of these teams had the opportunity to attend the Joint Centre’s Scientific Symposium in Shanghai in 2018 and Ottawa in May 2019.

University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine/ Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1

The Faculty of Medicine is leading the way in the internationalization of Canadian medical research and education. Over the past year, the University of Ottawa, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 and the Hospices Civils de Lyon developed a cooperation agreement to support the development of stronger ties for conducting research in the biomedical sciences and to develop new joint research programs and conferences. Given the international prominence and history of research excellence of these two Universities in neuromuscular disease research, a joint collaborative research program has been launched between the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Neuromuscular Disease (CNMD) and l’Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1 Institute NeuroMyoGene (INMG). This program will support collaborations between the two institutions in basic and clinical neuromuscular disease research, and will foster the development of novel collaborations and international research teams.

Past Collaborations

University of Ottawa / the Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences (SIBS)

In November 2011, the University of Ottawa and SIBS partnered to promote collaborative links between our two institutions in systems biology. This partnership aimed to promote the exchange of professors and graduate students through a symposium on systems biology to be held at uOttawa and at SIBS on a rotating basis; invited researchers to develop collaborative projects or to be trained in specialized techniques; encouraged scientists to develop joint research projects and make applications to national and international funding agencies supporting work in areas of mutual interest; and promoted international research experience and training for graduate students, postdoctoral fellows and clinical staff.

University of Ottawa / Ottawa Hospital Research Institute / the Ottawa Hospital / Institute of Zoology / Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences

In September 2005, the University of Ottawa, the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute and the Ottawa Hospital, together with the Institute of Zoology and the Shanghai Institutes of Biological Sciences formalized a collaborative agreement for research and academic exchange in the area of reproductive biology with the goals to develop links in reproductive biology research; promote the exchange of research personnel to carry out joint research and academic meetings; establish joint teams in reproductive health research and education so as to facilitate and intensify academic exchanges and research collaboration.

University of Ottawa / Université Paris – Descartes

Following informal communications between both universities, several opportunities for cooperation in the area of neuroscience, a field in which informal collaborations already existed, became evident. Increased collaboration, medical leadership and the creation of a conference to bring together key players in doctoral training were all identified as areas of potential partnership. In November 2009, a five-year memorandum of understanding formalized this intent. The partnership was renewed for an additional five years in 2014.

University of Ottawa / Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics

In June 2011, the University of Ottawa and the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics established a formal agreement to promote collaborative links in proteomics and systems biology. The joint research laboratory focused on proteomics and systems biology technology development and application; clinical application of proteomic and systems biology; mechanistic study of traditional Chinese medicine; biological validation of proteomics and systems biology; bioinformatics software development and application.

University of Ottawa / Shiga University of Medical Science

Through the efforts of the University of Ottawa Centre for Research in Biopharmaceuticals and Biotechnology, an agreement between uOttawa and the SHIGA University of Medical Science was signed. The overall objective of this new partnership is to develop academic and scientific collaborations by initially establishing an exchange of information in programs and course offerings as well as research programs and scientific projects. Emphasis will be placed on developing links in several areas, but primarily in brain and mind sciences, cardiovascular science and medical pedagogy.

University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine / Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine

In October 2013, the University of Ottawa and SJTU launched the Ottawa–Shanghai Joint School of Medicine. In September 2015, uOttawa welcomed the first group of Chinese medical students from SJTU. In October 2015, the Joint School of Medicine opened the first Canadian-style family physician clinic in China. To support the Joint School of Medicine’s on-going research activities in medicine and medical education, uOttawa and SJTU set up a significant research fund.

University of Ottawa / Hebrew University

Since June 2008, the University of Ottawa’s International Research Office has explored opportunities for increased engagement with key Israeli universities. Impressed with the research and development activities at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, our former university president initiated an official collaborative program between the uOttawa Faculty of Medicine and Hebrew University’s Institute of Medical Research Israel-Canada (IMRIC). As a result, a memorandum of understanding between the Faculty of Medicine and IMRIC was established to build collaborative links between the universities’ research arms with expertise in areas of common interest including neuroscience, bioinformatics and computational biology, women’s health, and cancer research.