The US-based University of Michigan Medical School is expanding its collaboration with All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for research on cancer, immunology, genetics trauma and disaster medicine.

A memorandum of understanding was signed by Prof. Mahesh C Misra, director of AIIMS, and Mary Sue Coleman, president, University of Michigan.

“Universities are at the forefront of globalization and co-operation. Collaborations among our universities draw on the strengths of diverse perspectives to encourage the sort of cross-fertilization that is the basis of creativity and innovation," according to Coleman.

The expanded alliance with AIIMS will help fulfil university’s mission to facilitate health research, education and collaboration with global partners for the benefit of communities worldwide, officials from both the sides said.

Misra said the new agreement would have great impact for his institute. “AIIMS will benefit immensely from our collaboration in gastroenterology, liver, paediatric surgery, acute care surgery, organ transplantation," he said. "Our efforts are to jointly attract national and international funding."

The first MoU between the two institutions was signed in March 2012 for trauma care and marked the beginning of the partnership. India has grown rapidly in recent decades, but its medical infrastructure hasn’t kept pace with its increasingly packed highways and byways. Motor vehicle crashes kill more than 150,000 people each year.

According to the Indian trauma centres website, someone dies in a traffic accident every two minutes – with two out of five patients perishing because treatment could not be provided in time.

“We’re aiming to develop a robust platform for collaboration that will facilitate research on diseases common to both our countries and the education that will strengthen our abilities to improve health,” said Joesph Kolars, MD, the Medical School’s Senior Associate Dean, Education & Global initiatives.

The Medical School is part of the U-M Health System, and its faculty care for patients at U-M’s hospitals and health centres while also performing a broad range of medical research and training future doctors and scientists. The U-M Health System offers some of the nation’s most advanced care for many conditions.

The U-M Health System is verified as a Level 1 Paediatric and Adult Trauma Centre by the American College of Surgeons, which means it provides the highest level of surgical care. It is also a verified Burn Centre by the ACS and American Burn Association.

“We bring a lot of experience and proven protocols to the table, along with a very robust programme of basic and clinical science research,” said Krishnan Raghavendran, MD, associate professor of Surgery in the Division of Acute Care Surgery at the U-M Medical School.