PANO – The Vietnam Military Medical University (VMMU) and the National University of Singapore (NUS) held the first Joint Scientific Symposium on March 9th and 10th in Hanoi.

Addressing the symposium, Lieutenant-General, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Tien Binh, Director of the VMMU, highly praised achievements of their cooperation program over the past years. He said that “The two sides have been active in developing humane resources, developing nations and the region through education, healthcare and scientific research.”

Prof. Gopalakrishnakone, leader of the NUS’s delegation is presenting his report on Drug discovery from Nature

The seminar is a forum for both scientists and lecturers from the two universities to exchange and share their experience, discuss strengths and to work out plans for 2011 and the next years.

Prof. Gopalakrishnakone, leader of the NUS’s delegation, appreciated results of the cooperation and said in the last few years, a lot of Vietnamese students from VMMU have completed PhD courses at UNS and are teaching at the Academy. He recommended that the two sides would expand the cooperation to other areas in future.

During the symposium, scientists and lectures from the two universities presented 10 scientific reports in English. Then, their presentations were translated into Vietnamese language.

“It is a good chance for Vietnamese lecturers and students to approach new scientific achievements and to practice their English language,” said Senior Lieutenant-Colonel, Associate-Professor & Dr. Nguyen Tung Linh, Head of the University’s Department of Science, Technology and Environment.

The Symposium draws the participation of many scientists, lectures and students.

Present at the event were leaders, scientists and lecturers as well as students. “I and my classmates are very happy to attend the event, which encourages us to improve our knowledge and our English language,” said Ngo Tien Gia, a second year student at the VMMU.

The cooperation between VMMU and the NUS started in 2002 and since then, the two sides have carried out several many cooperation programs in medical education and science research through training courses, exchanges, conferences, seminars and research projects in the fields of medical education and science research.

The VMMU and the NUS (particularly, the National University Health System (NUHS)) are also running in a quite common model- “the Institution–School” model, which comprises of a medical school, the teaching hospital and research centres as a complex. This model is functioning smoothly and serving very well the missions of training, research and treatment.

List of the scientific reports presented at the Symposium:

1. Associate Professor Tran Hai Anh PhD, VMMU: Medical Education at VMMU

2. Professor Gopalakrishnakone PhD, NUHS: Drug discovery from Nature.

3. Dr. Nguyen Minh Phuong, VMMU: Studies on poisonous mushroom and toxic plants from some provinces in the northern part of Vietnam.

4. Professor Mary Ng, NUHS: Molecular pathogenesis during flavivirus infections.

5. Dr. Tran Van Khoa, VMMU: Overview of Biotechnology at VMMU.

6. Professor Nobuhiro Yuki, NUHS: Molecular mimicry causes an autoimmune disease: Pathogenesis of Guillain-Barre syndrome subsequent to Campylobacter jeiuni enteritis.

7. Dr. Nguyen Dang Dzung, VMMU: An overview of Immunology achievement in VMMU

8. Dr. Louis Chai, NUHS: Host-Pathogen Immune Interaction in Opportunistic Fungal Infection.

9. Associate Professor Nguyen Thai Son and Dr. Tran Viet Tien, VMMU: Infectious disease researches at VMMU.

10. Dr Yoichi Suzuki, NUHS: Dept. of Antiviral Agents Using New Strategies, From Retroviruses to Other Viruses.

- The National University of Singapore, a renowned university in the region and in the world, trains hundreds of thousands of students from many countries worldwide every year and provide high quality working forces for the world and the region, and is also the place where many leading scientists gather.

- The Vietnam Military Medical University is one of the oldest and biggest medical universities in Vietnam. Over more than 60 years of construction and development, the university has trained hundreds of thousands of medical staff and made great contributions into taking care of soldiers and Vietnamese people.

Duy Minh