Events showcase UNMC’s commitment to Chinese partnerships

Front row from left, UNMC Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Rubens Pamies, M.D, Le Kang, Ph.D., director-general of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing Institutes of Life Science, UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D., UNMC Vice Chancellor for Research Tom Rosenquist, Ph.D., and Asia Pacific Rim Development Program Director Jialin Zheng, M.D., with Chinese students who have studied or are studying at UNMC.

UNMC’s commitment to partnerships with institutions in China was on full display Thursday.

Back-to-back campus events — one to recognize Chinese scholars who have been studying at UNMC and another to formally dedicate a house where such students reside during their medical center stays — served as concrete examples of UNMC’s dedication to its Chinese partnerships, said UNMC Chancellor Harold M. Maurer, M.D.

The students coming to UNMC from China are from some of the finest institutions in the world and having them on campus is a notable achievement, Dr. Maurer said.

Dr. Kang addresses the crowd during the dedication ceremony for the Asia Pacific Rim Development Program (APRDP) house as Dr. Maurer looks on.

From left: Dr. Maurer, Chao Zhang, a first-year Ph.D. nursing student from China, Dr. Kang and Dr. Zheng share a laugh just after cutting the ribbons on the APRDP House.

From left: Ming Li, a student from the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Dr. Kang and Keshore Bidasee, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmacology and experimental neurosciences, inside the APRDP house. Li worked in Dr. Bidasee’s laboratory this summer doing work that may lead to a joint publication between UNMC and Li’s institution in China.

“For us to be involved with students coming out of these environments is a real privilege,” he said.

During the first event, UNMC recognized graduate students who have come to study at UNMC with the support of the Chinese Scholarship Council and students from the Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (GUCAS) who have come to UNMC for the summer.

Among the students recognized was Ming Li, a student from GUCAS who has spent the summer working in the laboratory of Keshore Bidasee, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of pharmacology and experimental neuroscience.

Dr. Bidasee praised Li for his enthusiasm for lab work and described how the student took on the task of identifying a certain protein within the mitochondria of heart cells.

Li’s work has been so productive that he has extended his stay at UNMC to continue work on the project, which Dr. Bidasee said will likely lead to a joint publication between UNMC and GUCAS in a high-profile journal.

“This is an outstanding program and I’m extremely happy to be a part of it,” Dr. Bidasee said of the exchange program that allowed Li to join his lab for the summer. “These kinds of programs really make UNMC a force to be reckoned with.”

After the ceremony recognizing the Chinese students, UNMC formally cut ribbons on the Asia Pacific Rim Development Program (APRDP) House at 3901 Dewey Ave.

UNMC purchased and renovated the house so Chinese students who come to UNMC to study have a place to reside while on campus.

During the house dedication, Le Kang, Ph.D., director-general of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing Institutes of Life Science, thanked Dr. Maurer and the UNMC community for its dedication to partnerships with Chinese institutions.

“This isn’t just a guest house,” Dr. Kang said. “It is a home for these students … while they are in Omaha.”

Chao Zhang, a first-year Ph.D. nursing student from Shanghai Jiao Tong University who also is known as “Mickey,” has stayed at the house for the past month. This is her second time at UNMC as she also studied here as an undergraduate in 2007.

“We have a great deal of passion about our relationships in China. Some very interesting developments are coming out of these relationships and I can assure you, our partnerships will be successful.” Harold M. Maurer, M.D.

“I’m so thankful that UNMC has provided this house,” she said. “It’s a wonderful place for us to stay as we study at one of the best universities in the United States.”

Thursday’s events mark the latest in a recent surge of activity between UNMC and institutions in China.

In August, Dr. Maurer traveled to China for a trip that included the establishment of a joint research center between UNMC and the Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as the establishment of a joint M.D./Ph.D. program with the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine.

Last week, UNMC welcomed visitors from China and other nations as part of a reverse trade mission hosted by Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman.

Next month, a UNMC contingent will travel to China to continue relationship building with institutions there.

“We have a great deal of passion about our relationships in China,” Dr. Maurer said. “Some very interesting developments are coming out of these relationships and I can assure you, our partnerships will be successful.”