Academia Sinica on Wednesday said it has joined a project initiated by the US that seeks cooperation among several nations in an effort to promote cancer prevention and control.
Earlier this year, Academia Sinica and Chang Gung University signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the National Cancer Institute in the US to join the Cancer Moonshot initiative, which was announced in January.
The MOU features a strategy of analyzing a large number of cancer cases and exploring the mechanism of when the disease occurs.
Describing Academia Sinica as having leading proteogenomics technology, Chen Yu-ju (陳玉如), head of its Institute of Chemistry, said: “This cooperation shows that Taiwan’s proteogenomics technology has won international recognition and will help promote Taiwan’s visibility in the area of academic research.”
Academia Sinica and Chang Gung University last year signed MOUs with the National Cancer Institute to develop international cooperation on using proteomic methods to characterize tumors and compare findings with other diagnostic features, including genomic characterization, Academia Sinica said.
Earlier this year, the three organizations agreed to sign revised agreements to expand areas of cooperation, which makes Taiwan a participant in the US-led cancer project, it said.
With the aim of accelerating the progress toward prevention, treatment and even a cure for cancer, US President Barack Obama announced the Cancer Moonshot initiative in January and appointed US Vice President Joe Biden to lead the effort.
During a speech at the Social Good Summit in New York, Biden expressed the hope that by 2030 cancer will have disappeared from the world.
To achieve the goal, Biden announced steps through the Cancer Moonshot initiative, which include the announcement of new commitments with various countries to support better international cancer research and care.
The US will work with institutions in Taiwan, Canada, China, Germany, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea in the field of proteogenomics, and with Serbia, Sweden and Japan to open a discussion about better prevention, screening, treatment and research collaboration, Biden said.
Meanwhile, the US Department of Energy will work with Norway to share cervical screening data over the long term, he said.
The US Department of State will also strengthen US bilateral science and technology engagements with other countries to support Cancer Moonshot, he added.
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