Academia Sinica Deepens Scientific Cooperation, Signs MOU with Taiwan's National Ilan University and Mongolia

(CNA) Taipei, July 2, 2024 - Academia Sinica announced today that the Institute of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, led a delegation to visit Academia Sinica. The two sides exchanged views on public health policy, biomedical research, and talent cultivation. Academia Sinica and National Ilan University also jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mongolia, aiming to establish a long-term cooperation mechanism.

Academia Sinica issued a press release today stating that President Chi-Jen Chen recently received a delegation led by Gantulga Davaakhuu, Director of the Institute of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences. The two sides engaged in in-depth discussions on public health policy, prevention and control of viral hepatitis, biomedical research, and talent cultivation.

Academia Sinica pointed out that the Institute of Biochemistry, the Biodiversity Research Center of Academia Sinica, the College of Bioresources of National Ilan University, and the Institute of Biology, Mongolian Academy of Sciences, jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Over the next five years, the four parties will promote exchanges of researchers and students, joint research projects, sharing of academic data, joint participation in international conferences, and talent cultivation. The agreement may be renewed upon mutual consent of all parties after its expiration.

Chi-Jen Chen stated that Academia Sinica has long valued international cooperation. By joining forces with National Ilan University, combining the scientific research capabilities of research institutions and universities, this initiative demonstrates the results of cross-sectoral resource integration and symbolizes a new milestone in Taiwan-Mongolia scientific cooperation, jointly promoting research projects, personnel visits, and talent cultivation.

Gantulga Davaakhuu said that Mongolia has been promoting Hepatitis B vaccination for over 30 years, but still faces challenges such as vaccination in remote areas, infections among adolescents, and late diagnoses of liver cancer. During this visit to the Translational Medicine Research Center of Academia Sinica, he learned about Academia Sinica's research achievements in curing chronic Hepatitis B, including HBV animal models, cytokine immunotherapy, and single-cell RNA sequencing technology. He expressed hope for deepening bilateral cooperation in disease prevention and control in the future.

Academia Sinica stated that through this exchange, several substantive cooperation projects will gradually commence. Meng Tze-ching, a research fellow at the Institute of Biochemistry, has planned a trip to the Gobi region of Mongolia to collect samples from wild Mongolian horses with partners from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, focusing on the gut microbiome of wild Mongolian horses. Through in-depth sequencing of the gut microbiome, advantageous microorganisms with potential for bio-based green energy applications will be screened.

Furthermore, Tang Sen-lin, a research fellow at the Biodiversity Research Center of Academia Sinica, and Adiya Saruulzaya, a Ph.D. from the Mongolian Academy of Sciences, have initiated a bilateral cooperation project. They will utilize long-term monitoring data from Mongolia to analyze microbial and viral communities in permafrost and assess the ecological safety and public health risks that may arise from permafrost thawing under climate change. (Editor: Li Heng-shan) 1150702

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