Xiangya Research Training Program

"We are helping to train the future leaders of medicine in China. These students can return to China to have a huge impact in the field, and the University of Michigan will have played a key role in their training and education."

Eugene Chen, UMMS Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine & Xiangya Training Program director

Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine Eugene Chen addresses a cohort of visiting students from the Xiangya School of Medicine.

History

The University of Michigan Medical School and Central South University’s Xiangya School of Medicine, located in Changsha, China, formalized their research training program in 2014. Each year, up to 10 of Xiangya’s brightest medical students are selected to travel to U-M to work in the lab of a Michigan Medicine faculty mentor. To date, 68 students have participated in the program.

The Xiangya Training partnership is funded by the Central South University and a generous donation of a Xiangya alum.

2-year training

Program participants are selected by their institution to spend 24-months in Ann Arbor working in the lab of a Michigan Medicine faculty mentor. Medical education in China begins immediately after high school and requires eight years to complete. Most participating Xiangya students arrive at UMMS following their sixth year of medical school and spend two years at U-M before returning to China to finish their MD degree.

5-year PhD training

Announced in 2019 and launched in 2021, this training track is a degree-conferring program during which participating students take courses through the UMMS Program in Biomedical Sciences (PIBS) and spend five years in the research lab of a UMMS faculty mentor. Participants earn their PhD from U-M and return to China to complete their MD. The agreement marks the first-of-its-kind dual-degree program offered through the Xiangya School of Medicine.

By the Numbers

75

Participating Xiangya trainees to date

103

Publications co-authored by Xianyga trainees with UMMS colleagues

44

UMMS training program mentors representing 21 departments

History

2-year training

5-year PhD training

By the Numbers

Publications

Program Mentors