The Department of Experimental Medicine of the Tamilnadu Dr. MGR Medical University has entered into an agreement with the University of Washington, USA, on research, faculty exchange and training in the field of HIV/AIDS.

An MoU in this regard was signed in Chennai last week between C V Bhirmanandham, vice-chancellor, Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University and Ann J Melvin, Professor, Paediatric department, University of Washington. N Thalavai Sundaram, Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Tamilnadu, and P Vijayalakshmi, Director of Medical Education, Tamilnadu, also attended the function, said sources.

According to sources, the MoU would help to exchange staff, students, physicians and faculty of both the universities for training and research in the rural areas to study spread of AIDS/HIV. Already two research students from the Washington University are undertaking research in rural Tamilnadu on HIV/AIDS, and a student of the Dr. M G R Medical University is undergoing training in HIV medicine in the US. Advanced research in laboratory and clinical aspects related to HIV/AIDS prevention is one of the major thrust areas of the collaboration with the university, informed the sources.

Already the Dr. MGR Medical University has an MoU with the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institute of Health (NIH), US to study HIV/AIDS-positive mothers and the decrease in the risk of mother-to-child transmission in Tamil Nadu. The project is being undertaken in two taluk hospitals at Namakkal and Rasipuram.

The Department of Experimental Medicine of the Tamil Nadu Dr. MGR Medical University is also conducting various research projects related to HIV/AIDS prevention and transmission, said sources.