On May 08, 2024, University of Science and Technology of Hanoi (USTH) warmly welcomed a distinguished delegation from Mekong One Health Innovation Program (MOHIP) – USA.
Welcoming the Mekong One Health Innovation Program (MOHIP) delegation from the USA were Prof. Jean-Marc Lavest – Principal Rector, Dr. Nguyen Quang Huy – Deputy Director of Department of Life Sciences, Mrs. Do Thi Thuy Trang – Deputy Head of Department of International Cooperation, and the USTH lecturers in the research group for Mekong One Health Innovation Program (MOHIP).
Representing MOHIP from the USA were Dr. Ramjee Ghimire – Program Director and Principal Investigator of MOHIP, adjunct faculty in Institute of Global Health at Michigan State University. Also at the meeting, USTH welcomed Dr. Furqan Irfan – Assistant Professor and Director of Research Development at the College of Osteopathic Medicine, Michigan State University, and Dr. Nguyen Quoc Dinh – Head of Global Engagement and Partnership Office from Phenikaa University, Country Coordinator of MOHIP.
The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Institute for Global Health of the College of Osteopathic Medicine at Michigan State University (MSU) jointly implements a three-year Cooperative Agreement project (September 2022 – September 2025), the Mekong One Health Innovation Program (MOHIP). MOHIP aims to improve health security in three Mekong countries, namely, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam, through strengthening the One Health approach. Funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (EAP), the overarching goal of this project is to connect U.S. health experts with key Mekong researchers and create a transnational health security network that focuses on the lower Mekong sub-region.
At the meeting, Prof. Jean-Marc Lavest provided an overview of USTH’s history, training model, and achievements over the past 14 years. He also mentioned the challenges and opportunities that USTH has been encountering to develop the training and research activities in the context when the Industrial Revolution 4.0 is happening rapidly in Vietnam. He highlighted the university’s strategic plans to become a leading institution in science and technology education and research in Vietnam and the region.
Dr. Ramjee Ghimire expressed their gratitude for the warm welcome from USTH’s Rector Board and expressed his great impression of USTH’s remarkable development since its establishment. Dr. Ramjee Ghimire and Dr. Furqan Irfan also shared the development journey of MOHIP, its current project activities, and its ambition for future development. The project expects to foster more substantial and sustained relationships between the U.S. and Mekong researchers and develop a vibrant multi-country network that will leverage resources to continue timely research on health security issues. Mekong researchers will further benefit by being able to devise health security solutions that fit their needs.
At the meeting, representatives of the two institutions and the research group of MOHIP exchanged ideas about their current research activities within the framework of the MOHIP and the possibilities of cooperative projects between the two institutions and expressed their determination to embark on innovative ventures as a team.
The meeting between USTH and Mekong One Health Innovation Program (MOHIP) representatives from the USA concluded, paving the way for future collaborations between the two parties.
