Source: The Third Affiliated Hospital
Written by: Office of Discipline Construction and International Cooperation, The Third Affiliated Hospital
Translated by: Li Yeyu
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On February 17-18, 2014, a four-person delegation from the University of Birmingham (UoB), including Jonathan Frampton, Professor of Stem Cell Biology; Darius Mirza, Professor of Transplant Surgery; KK Cheng, Professor of Public Health; and Junying Jia, International Project Officer, visited The Third Affiliated Hospital. Both sides signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and had in-depth explorations in how to launch and promote cooperation between the two institutes. Professor Yang Yang, Secretary and Vice President of The Third Affiliated Hospital; Professor Wu Bin, Assistant President of The Third Affiliated Hospital, and other colleagues from related offices attended the meeting.

Professor Yang Yang extended his warm welcome to the delegation and introduced briefly the the hospital’s strengths in the field of liver diseases and cell therapy. Later on, Li Yeyu from hospital office, Professor Huang Yuehua from liver disease hospital, Professor Yi Huimin from Department of Liver Transplantation, and Professor Zhang Qi from Biotherapy Center introduced the general situation of the hospital, the basic information of Infectious Disease Department and Liver Disease Laboratory, current status of Liver Transplantation Department and the characteristics of Biotherapy Center respectively. On behalf of UoB, Professor Jonathan Frampton gave a brief introduction to the university’s basic situation and expressed his willingness to establish long-term collaboration with the hospital. Both parties decided to initiate the cooperation from advantageous field through joint research, faculty exchange and training, bilateral forum and joint postgraduate training, thus to share resources and promote mutual improvement.

After the meeting, the Workshop on Liver Disease between The Third Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) and University of Birmingham (UoB) was officially held in the Lecture Hall of Liver Disease Building. Professor Jonathan Frampton and Professor Darius Mirza reported on “The Challenges of Translational Medicine Research: The Birmingham Experience” and “Liver Transplantation in Birmingham” separately, providing UoB’s current status and latest development in translational medicine research. Professor Zhang Qi from the hospital reported on “Could Cancer Immunotherapy be Used in Liver Transplantation Recipients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma?” presenting new ideas on neoplasm recurrence prevention after liver transplantation. The workshop provided a platform for both sides to deepen understanding, share experiences in treating liver diseases and explore areas of cooperation.

On the afternoon of February 17, the delegation visited Liver Disease Laboratory, Infectious Disease Department, Organ Transplantation Department, ICU of General Surgery and Biotherapy Center, accompanied by Professor Zhang Qi, Professor Huang Yuehua, Professor Zhang Yufeng, Professor Yi Shuhong and Dr. Zhang Min.

On February 18, Professor Darius Mirza visited the Organ Transplantation Center on Luogang Division and had clinical case discussion with experts from the center. After watching the video that demonstrates the 10 years’ development of liver transplantation department, Professor Yi Shuhong introduced various types of liver transplant surgeries carried out in the hospital in detail and had in-depth discussion with Professor Darius Mirza on some intractable cases and surgery methods. Meng Xiaochun, Chief Physician from Radiology Department, and Ren Jie, Chief Physician from Ultrasound Department, introduced the new imaging techniques currently applied in liver diseases in the hospital, such as distribution assessment of blood flow by 320 CT and differential diagnosis of ischemic type biliary lesion (ITBL) by using contrast-enhanced ultrasound (CEUS).

Ranked among the world’s top 100 institutions, the University of Birmingham (UoB) is one of the most influential elite universities in the United Kingdom. It is world-renowned for its high-quality teaching and research, and is recognized as the top 10 research universities in the UK. The College of Medical and Dental Sciences enjoys a great reputation in Europe in the areas of clinical research, cancer sciences, liver transplantation and cell therapy, etc. The delegation’s visit has established a long-term partnership between UoB and The Third Affiliated Hospital, providing a solid foundation for future cooperation in scientific research and talent cultivation.