Topics Signing Ceremony for Renewal of the MRC - AMED Memorandum of Cooperation

Topics

The Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) of the United Kingdom have renewed their Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) at a signing ceremony on 12th September 2022 at the Embassy of Japan in the UK, in the presence of AMED President Dr Yoshinao Mishima and Executive Chair of the MRC Dr John Iredale. Renewal of the MoC, which was originally signed on 1st February 2017, reaffirms the commitment by both funding agencies to continue to collaborate and cooperate in the support of research and development in medical and biomedical fields.

In the MoC, AMED and the MRC have agreed to work together to accelerate medical R&D in the mutually-prioritised areas of infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, regenerative medicine and dementia (neuroscience).

Since the MoC was first signed in 2017, AMED and the MRC have held several joint workshops and symposia in these prioritised fields. They have also been successful in launching joint calls for Japan-UK collaborative research projects in the fields of infectious disease research and regenerative medicine, with projects starting in 2020 and lasting for 3 years.

In the field of dementia (neuroscience), they have also held the annual UK-Japan Neuroscience Symposium, with the location of the event alternating between the two countries each year. Following a joint call for proposals under the Strategic International Collaborative Research Programme (SICORP) (application deadline: 22nd September 2022), AMED and the MRC plan to begin support to Japan-UK collaborative research projects (lasting 3 years) in neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases and dementia, which are scheduled to start in 2023.

Beyond these activities, AMED and the MRC are also working to promote Japan-UK research interaction focusing on themes around healthy ageing, biobanks and cohort studies. In addition to their bilateral cooperation, AMED and the MRC are also both active members of multilateral initiatives such as the Global Research Collaboration for Infectious Disease Preparedness (GloPID-R), the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR), the Global Alliance for Genomics and Health (GA4GH), the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases (GACD), and more.

The renewal of the MoC between AMED and the MRC and the continued promotion of international joint research projects can be expected to further accelerate medical research and the development of new ways to fight diseases, leading to extended healthy lifespans for all.

Contact

Department of International Strategy
Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED)
Tel:03-6870-2216
E-mail:international"AT"amed.go.jp

*Please change "AT" to @ in the above e-mail address.

Last updated 10/07/22