On 6 January 2020, Lawrence Banks, ICGEB Director-General was at the China Medical City in Taizhou, to sign the agreement for the implementation of the First ICGEB Regional Research Centre.
The ICGEB China Regional Research Centre is now recruiting for the position of Director. See Nature
Together with dignitaries from the Taizhou Municipal Government, CMC Taizhou Medical Hi-tech Zone, the Science and Technology Department of Jiangsu Province, and the China National Center for Biotechnology Development, high-level delegations from the CNCBD, the ICGEB, and representatives from Fudan and Nanjing Medical Universities and the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences were in attendance.
To respond to “The Belt and Road Initiative” and concentrate global innovative resources to improve China’s international cooperation capacity, the request for the establishment of an RRC in China was submitted at the 23rd session of the ICGEB Board of Governors, in 2017, approved the following year, and is now expected to officially open in 2020.
The ICGEB-CMC RRC is located within the Taizhou Medical Hi-Tech Zone in Jiangsu Province comprising more than 800 companies working in the biomedical sector. It will enhance collaboration among related regions and Member countries through science and technology, internationalization and building a high-end, talent training and an innovative centre. The RRC will build three functions: science research, talent training, and capability building. For science research, it will focus on virus (vaccine), biologics (antibody drugs), and in-vitro diagnostics.
“For ICGEB the Regional Research Centre project is an extremely exciting new adventure ” – says Lawrence Banks – “and the fact that China is leading the way in the implementation of these Centres is truly wonderful. The whole concept is aimed to increase ICGEB’s activity within its Member Countries – and in the case of China this is absolutely fundamental.”
He added: “This is a wonderful opportunity for expanding interactions between Italy and China. This year marks a milestone in Italy-China interactions – 50 years of close cooperation and collaboration – and I can think of no better way to mark this collaboration than the opening of the first ICGEB RRC in China.”
The signing ceremony took place following the meeting of the RRC Project Promotion where the order of the day was the registering of the RRC as a non-profit legal entity, the recruitment of the Director of the RRC, the yearly activity plan, teleconference communication mechanism and instrument and equipment purchasing.
Press Releases:
ST Daily: First ICGEB Regional Research Centre opens in China
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