Researchers work in a lab at the UM National Center for Natural Products Research, which has signed a collaboration agreement with the National Institute of Complementary Medicine in Australia. Photo by Robert Jordan/Ole Miss Communications
OXFORD, Miss. – The National Center for Natural Products Research at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy has signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Institute of Complementary Medicine in Australia, making the NCNPR part of research collaborations on every inhabited continent.
The agreement will allow the two entities to work together on research and other scholarly activities. The Ole Miss center’s similar partnerships around the world range from numerous research alliances in North America and Asia to collaborations in Brazil and South Africa.
The NICM, which is housed within Western Sydney University, focuses on researching natural products to create new drugs, as the NCNPR does. The centers’ joint endeavors may include co-authoring publications, sharing samples for study and jointly presenting research findings.
“We are pleased to work with another institute that cares about the safety and quality of natural products,” said Ikhlas Khan, NCNPR director. “We’re hoping this global collaboration will produce more research on new products that will be at the forefront of new medicines.”
This agreement will make sharing scientific resources and ideas for solving global health issues faster and easier. Both centers will benefit from each other’s expertise as part of the cooperation; Khan cited the NICM’s focus on clinical research and the NCNPR’s expertise in chemistry and biology as complementary disciplines.
The agreement supports the Australian government’s National Innovation and Science Agenda and Global Innovation Strategy, which advance international science and research collaboration, said Alan Bensoussan, director of the NICM.
“This is an exciting opportunity for sharing our capabilities and supporting each other’s research with interlab validations, development of intellectual property and clinical testing of products,” Bensoussan said. “We look forward to future exchanges.”
Since 2000, more than 200 visiting scientists from around the world have come to the NCNPR as part of these research exchanges.
“These partnerships the NCNPR fosters not only help to spread the benefits of research, but they promote international goodwill and collaboration,” said David D. Allen, dean of the UM School of Pharmacy.