University of Pennsylvania has announced a collaboration agreement with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to develop a joint Center of Excellence in Brain Mapping for the purpose of collaborative research and education in neuroimaging.

In addition, University president Amy Gutmann and Chinese Academy of Sciences Vice President Li Jiayang signed an MOU to establish a cooperative research relationship and to facilitate the international exchange of ideas between the two institutions.

"We look forward to a dynamic and successful collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China's center for excellence in the natural sciences, technology, and research and development," said Gutmann. "Pennsylvania has an outstanding tradition in neuroimaging, and we are pleased to partner with eminent Chinese scientists and clinicians to advance discoveries and clinical applications in brain mapping to promote health and well-being."

As part of the current agreement, researchers and scientists from Pennsylvania and the Institute of Biophysics (part of the CAS) will develop a center to advance the application of neuroimaging to basic and cognitive neuroscience research, including the development and evaluation of novel imaging technologies and their translation into new biomedical applications, and basic science studies for detection, characterization, diagnosis, and image-guided treatment of brain diseases affecting people around the world.

After the signing ceremony, faculty from the two institutions joined researchers and administrators for a symposium on neuroimaging to highlight the range of problems and methods represented by the CAS-Penn Center of Excellence in Brain Mapping, including cognitive and systems neuroscience, computational anatomy and physiology, and clinical and translational neurosciences.