China visit opens research and student exchange opportunities

Professor Segelov and Mr Michael Wang,
Director of Exchange and Cooperation,
Shanghai Renji Hospital

Director of Oncology at Monash University and Monash Health Professor Eva Segelov has recently returned from a successful visit to Renji Hospital and Shanghai Jia-Tong School of Medicine in China, where she was invited as a guest lecturer and discussed future opportunities for research collaborations and student exchange.

Founded in 1844, Renji Hospital was the first hospital to practice western medicine in Shanghai, and is affiliated with one of China’s leading universities, the Shanghai Jia-Tong School of Medicine.

“To understand the scale of the Chinese health system, Renji Hospital employs more than 4000 medical staff, has 2000 beds and had 4.26 million episodes of outpatient and Emergency Department attendances in 2016,” said Professor Segelov.

“Renji Hospital has an enormous tissue bank, multiple other resources and potential opportunities relating to their huge patient base.”

“They also have a different distribution of disease so see many more patients with various conditions than we do here in Australia.”

Professor Segelov said the purpose of her visit was to establish research collaborations and potential medical, research and nursing student exchanges between Monash University and Renji Hospital / Shanghai Jia-Tong School of Medicine.

“I was invited by their International Office to deliver a lecture on ‘Cancer Epidemiology, Prevention and Control’ to the students doing the all-English combined Canadian/Chinese medical degree at the Ottowa Shanghai Jia-Tong School of Medicine, from which successful students will graduate with dual Canadian/Chinese full medical qualifications,” said Professor Segelov.

“After my lecture we had a particularly interesting philosophical discussion regarding public policy decisions faced by China’s rapid industrialisation and modernisation.”

“I also toured the huge campus and met with the Vice-President of Renji Hospital, and the research group of Professor Chen with whom we hope to establish a collaboration studying the role of the HPV virus in squamous cancer of the oesophagus,” said Professor Segelov.

Professor Segelov’s visit included a meeting with Renji Hospital’s Head Nurse and a discussion about nursing exchanges opportunities as well as research into issues such as cultural change in attitudes to nursing.  Currently there are almost no male nurses in China.

“Monash Nursing academics have been approached and at this early stage are enthusiastic for progressing opportunities; a teleconference for all interested parties will be set up in the near future,” said Professor Segelov.

If you are interested in joining this or discussing opportunities, please contact Professor Segelov (eva.segelov@monash.edu).