Source: SYSU News Center
Written by: SYSU News Center
Edited by: Wang Dongmei

On the morning of August 26 (local time in the U.S.), Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) signed a framework agreement with Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) to collaborate in CMU’s Brain Initiative. Dr. Subra Suresh, President of Carnegie Mellon University; Dr. Nathan Urban, Interim Provost of Carnegie Mellon University; Dr. Thomas Insel, Director of National Institute of Mental Health; Prof. Li Mengfeng, Vice President of Sun Yat-sen University; and experts in various scientific fields, a total of 150 people attended the meeting.

Understanding the function and dysfunction of the brain is widely recognized as one of the grand challenges of this century. At present, the need for new approaches to understanding and treatment of brain disorders is enormous. In this context, CMU’s Brain Initiative will integrate research in all aspects of brain science and generate new approaches to brain science that draw on the parallels between brain and machine intelligence as well as an understanding of the distinctive nature of biological computational science and engineering.

SYSU and CMU have created a long-term strategic partnership by establishing a Joint Institute of Engineering (JIE) and a Joint Research Institute (JRI) in Guangdong. These institutes will combine cutting-edge research activities at both SYSU and CMU with several graduate education programs that will train the next generation of students. Given SYSU’s prominence in supercomputing, medical science, information science and technology as well as neuroscience, it is of strategic importance for SYSU to become a founding partner in CMU’s brain research initiative. Such partnership will also significantly strengthen existing collaborations between SYSU and CMU, and help develop critically needed human capacity for JIE and JRI.

As a founding member of the CMU brain initiative, SYSU will integrate resources to participate in the interdisciplinary research and talent training. SYSU and CMU will jointly recruitment young scientists who will be trained at both universities; they will also perform joint research work with scientists, engineers and clinicians at both SYSU and CMU.