A delegation of six included the deans of the schools of the Medicine and Nursing, as well as the CSU President, Li Jiancheng, a professor of engineering. The group spent all of Oct. 24 at U-M, touring facilities and meeting with counterparts as well as students from the CSU Xiangya School of Medicine who are in Ann Arbor as part of an ongoing research training program. More than 20 of those students were able to have lunch with the visiting CSU leaders, discuss their research and experience in Ann Arbor, and hear words of encouragement from Jiancheng.
“It was an honor to host our friends from CSU to showcase this training program and the research their students are engaged in,” said UMMS Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Eugene Chen, who has mentored several of the Xiangya students in his lab over the past 9 years. “CSU and the Xiangya School of Medicine partner with multiple US institutions, so their decision to visit U-M indicates a profound commitment and a high-degree of trust in our partnership.”
The training partnership was first launched in 2014 and brings up to 10 CSU medical students to Ann Arbor each year for a two-year mentored research experience under a UMMS faculty member. In 2021, the partner institutions introduced an expanded five-year program through which participants earn a PhD from U-M alongside their MD from CSU.
In addition to meeting with students, members of the CSU delegation met with U-M faculty including Professor of Engineering and MCity Director Henry Liu; Professor of Nursing and Associate Dean for Global Affairs Jody Lori; Professor of Medicine and Health Professions Education and Executive Director of the U-M Center for Global Health Equity Joseph Kolars; and U-M Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Laurie McCauley.