U Delegation Visits Partners in India

SPH Dean John Finnegan was part of a delegation from the University's Academic Health Center (AHC) that returned to India last October to advance the school's research and education partnerships.

The first stop was New Delhi, where Finnegan, Frank Cerra, senior vice president for health sciences, and a team of AHC researchers met with the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India's equivalent of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. The University of Minnesota has an agreement to pursue joint research projects with the ICMR.

A scientific symposium highlighting the two institutions' research was followed by a meeting of ICMR and University steering committee members who discussed future research initiatives. Researchers from both institutions were encouraged to partner on proposals to be considered by the steering committee this spring.

The next stop was Bangalore, India's high-tech hub. The University team met with researchers at St. John's National Academy of Health Sciences and discussed joint projects in environmental health and cardiovascular disease prevention. They also met with legendary Indian heart surgeon Devi Shetty at his mega-hospital, Narayana Hrudayalaya.

The final stop was the city of Manipal, situated along the Arabian Sea on India's southwestern coast. There, progress was made in establishing a joint Master of Public Health degree program with Manipal University. "I am delighted with the progress we are making with our partners in India," says Finnegan. "The public health challenges in India are immense, and we are committed to pursuing research and education partnerships to build that country's public health capacity, advance our understanding of disease, and improve the health of its citizenry."