The U.S. Consul General in Toronto, Baxter Hunt, visited Western on Oct. 31, highlighting the university’s strong connections with students, scholars and medical research agencies south of the border.
Hunt spoke with Western leaders and researchers and toured the Imaging Pathogens for Knowledge Translation (ImPaKT) facility, which was built to enhance understanding of infectious diseases, using cellular and animal imaging technologies to enable real-time visualization of infections.
“I had a great visit to Western,” said Hunt. “I was very impressed with the work the university is doing on entrepreneurship, climate research and health. The ImPaKT facility is clearly on the cutting edge of research on infectious disease, especially with the new pathogen research centre under development.”
Hunt recognized the impact driven by powerful collaborations between Canadian and U.S. universities and funders.
“It was great to hear about all of the research partnerships Western has with U.S. universities, as well as the funding from the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation that is supporting work at Western. Great Canadian and American minds working together are tackling some of the most challenging global problems we face, and we’re glad to have this bilateral cooperation,” Hunt said.
Western has flourishing partnerships with U.S. universities and institutions to deliver unique student learning experiences and compelling research. There are a number of exchange programs and hundreds of additional international learning experiences for Western students in the U.S.
More than 7,000 publications were co-authored by Western researchers with their U.S. counterparts over the past five years. Harvard University, the University of California San Diego and the Mayo Clinic collaborated with Western most frequently.
Western researchers hold millions in NIH funding, with an emphasis on neuroscience and studies on aging. The university has a total of 88 NIH grant-holders.
“Canada and the U.S. enjoy a unique history of close collaboration and partnership. That geopolitical relationship is also reflected among university partnerships and research collaborations,” said Western President Alan Shepard.
“We are proud of Western’s many connections to the U.S., and we look forward to building on our strong partnerships to advance critical research in the best interest of both countries.”
