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Biomedical research: a new hub brings together Venice and Osaka in an agreement between Ca' Foscari University and Kansai Medical University

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Tiziana Lippiello, Rector of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Tatsuo Kinashi, President of Kansai Medical University

Combining medicine, engineering, and biomedical informatics to advance innovative research that enhances human health and quality of life. With this bold aim, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and Kansai Medical University of Osaka are uniting their strengths to promote cooperation among researchers and students on issues of shared concern that have societal relevance, including cutting-edge cancer treatments, diagnostics and rehabilitation for neurodegenerative disorders, breakthroughs in molecular and regenerative medicine, and AI-augmented genomic diagnostics.

As part of an agreement initiated between the two universities in September 2024, the first official accords were signed today to make the collaboration operational. Rector Tiziana Lippiello and Tatsuo Kinashi, President of Kansai Medical University, inaugurated the Venetian headquarters of the Ca’ Foscari / KMU Academic HUB at Ca’ Bottacin. The space will host visiting professors and PhD students from Japan during their study and research periods in Venice. Conversely, the Japanese university will welcome researchers and students from Ca’ Foscari as part of the biomedical research collaboration.

In addition to the two rectors, the agreement was signed in the presence of Salvatore Orlando, Director of the Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics, and Statistics at Ca’ Foscari University of Venice; Flavio Rizzolio, Professor of Molecular Biology at Ca’ Foscari and scientific coordinator of the agreement; Achille Giacometti, Director of the European Center for Living Technology at Ca’ Foscari; and Giuseppe Pezzotti, Director of the Biomedical Engineering Center at Kansai Medical University.

Today’s agreement enables a dual PhD programme between Ca’ Foscari's PhD in Physical and Materials Engineering and KMU's Bioengineering and Medical Sciences. Selected students at Ca’ Foscari will spend 12 months conducting research in Osaka. After completing their studies, they will earn a PhD in Molecular Sciences as well as a diploma in Medicine.

The Academic HUB will also foster connections between research and industry, as well as the clinical application of medical discoveries. In this context, collaborations with other local institutions will be essential, including those already established with the San Camillo IRCCS Institute on the Lido, the Veneto Region, the ULSS3 Venice health authority, and the hospitals of Kansai Medical University. In this manner, the HUB will contribute to medical innovation on both a local and global scale.

“This partnership transcends a mere academic exchange; it represents a commitment to equipping our young scholars with the skills and perspectives necessary to address the complex challenges we face today,” stated Tiziana Lippiello, Rector of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, in her speech. “What makes this collaboration truly remarkable is the plurality of knowledge it brings together. Combining medicine, engineering, and biomedical informatics physics to advance innovative research that enhances human health and quality of life. The hub is a collaborative environment: we hope to create a territorial network that enhances our research ecosystem”.

"In Venice, researchers will be able to combine training in AI and advanced technologies with a well-rounded and essential cultural dimension," explains Tatsuo Kinashi, President of Kansai Medical University. This city will offer them the opportunity to enrich their studies in biomedical engineering and other key scientific disciplines in the medical field, fostering a truly global mindset. Osaka and Venice are both ancient maritime powers with a strong orientation toward modernity. Venice is the ideal place to integrate technologies and people."