Tuesday, October 19, 2021
Media contact: Derinda Blakeney | University of Veterinary Medicine | 405-744-6740 | derinda@okstate.edu
Isabelle Richard, Vice President for European Affairs and International Relations at the University of Nantes.
A new international partnership between the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oklahoma State University and the University of Nantes in France will lead to exciting opportunities for faculty and students under the umbrella of One Global Health Medicine.
The collaboration aims to promote collaboration in teaching, research and public relations, including various forms of exchanges (both in person and remotely) between students and teachers within the two institutions.
the Partnership will leverage complementary strengths, including unique cutting-edge expertise and institutional resources, to address a variety of disease problems and develop new therapeutic strategies to improve animal welfare, Human and environment.
This transatlantic partnership was promoted through the individual initiatives and research collaborations of internationally recognized faculties, including scientists and clinicians with a successful track record of independent research – Dr. Veronique Lacombe from OSU and Drs. Benjamin Lauzier and Yannick Guilloux from the UN.
As a veterinarian / scientist, Lacombe is Professor in the Department of Physiological Sciences at OSU CVM. She directs the Comparative Metabolism Laboratory, which studies glucose metabolism in metabolic disorders and novel metabolic therapeutic strategies that could be of benefit to both veterinary and human patients. She also teaches at the professional and university level.
“The pandemic has highlighted the critical need for One Health Medicine and I am excited to be working on such a global initiative with European leaders in biomedical research and medicine,” said Lacombe. “When I visited the University of Nantes, I was impressed by the rich environment the UN offers, including the research centers. I hope that this international partnership will inspire other faculties as well as students and postdocs to join and develop this novel transatlantic academic network of excellence.
“Besides the use Digital technology, Faculty and PhD students from both institutions could travel abroad to expand and share their knowledge and research skills while being exposed to a diverse environment and culture, including the beautiful lakes of Stillwater and the vibrant city of Nantes. ”
Guilloux and Lauzier are professors at the UN College of Sciences and Technology and coordinators of graduate programs. They are also established scientists at the Research Center for Oncology and Immunology and the Thorax Institute.
“The COVID-19 situation gave us an incredible opportunity to show that working remotely (any distance, actually) is possible,” said Lauzier. “We have built a strong and lasting working relationship with Professor Lacombe’s team that will lead to joint funding applications.” Hosting Masters and Ph.D. Students and much more. I hope that these relationships will serve as a stepping stone for other teams and that the relationship between our two institutions will be fruitful. ”
This partnership will also provide significant international experience for the next generation of scientists, as evidenced by ongoing research and teaching activities between the Lacombe and Lauzier research teams. Graduates of the OSU CVM have already benefited from such an exchange.
“I’m really looking forward to our bi-weekly virtual journal club / seminar with the University of Nantes,” said Matthew Rochowski, a research assistant in Lacombe’s laboratory. “The exchange with lecturers, scientists and students is always very stimulating and will help me to become a versatile scientist. In addition, the research collaboration with Dr. Lauzier at the Thorax Institute a great opportunity to learn about unique research methods and innovative medical research. In particular, they are able to carry out a state-of-the-art experiment that I cannot do myself and that will contribute to the successful completion of my doctoral thesis. Dissertation. In return, I will conduct a unique experiment to measure glucose transport that Dr. Mastered Lacombe’s laboratory. I also hope to have the opportunity to visit Europe as part of this scientific exchange. ”
Lauzier added: “We will also be able to innovate on an academic level by enabling students to benefit from the expertise of the various universities. That is very motivating! ”
This is due to the fact that both institutions are among the front runners in terms of research and innovation-related indicators worldwide.
“I am impressed that Professor Lacombe and my colleagues Drs. Benjamin Lauzier and Yannick Guilloux have taken the initiative to develop a collaboration on a topic that is of central importance to our two institutions. I trust that this Memorandum of Understanding is the first step towards a memorandum of agreement with which we will be running exchange programs for our students and faculty members in One Health in the near future, ”said Isabelle Richard, Vice President for European Affairs and International Relations at the United Nations .
This international partnership with a European peer institution will contribute to OSU’s land grant mission and build on the proud legacy of Oklahoma State University, which has had extensive international reach for more than 50 years.
“We welcome this new partnership with the University of Nantes as we believe that this type of partnership expands our passion for meeting global needs as expressed in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” said Dr. Randy Kluver, Assistant Director and Dean of the OSU School for Global Studies and Partnerships. “We look forward to partnering with this prestigious university to advance our common goal of advancing global health.”
The OSU offers a supportive and collaborative interdisciplinary research environment with excellent access to the infrastructure and offers excellent training opportunities.
“With our available graduate studies and research programs, working with the United Nations will improve academic and scientific exchange between our two institutions,” said Dr. Jerry Malayer, CVM Senior Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education. “Many of our Research Excellence Centers overlap with United Nations research topics, including, but not limited to, respiratory and cardiovascular disease and oncology.”
Dr. Carlos Risco, Dean of OSU CVM, said: “We are excited to have the opportunity to partner with the University of Nantes on research and teaching activities in One Health to promote global wellbeing. This partnership will allow faculty and students from both institutions to combine their strengths and experience to accelerate scientific innovation, productivity and discovery. This partnership will also support our college vision, which is to be innovative world leaders in health care, research and professional education. ”
