Prof Dr Stephan Ludwig (Institute of Molecular Virology), who has maintained contacts to Fiocruz for many years and initiated the university-wide partnership with Münster University, organised the visit to WWU with the support of the Brazil Centre. The three-person delegation included Prof Dr Rodrigo Correa-Oliveira, Vice President for Research and Biological Collections at Fiocruz, Dr Marcelo Pelajo, Head of Biological Collections, and Vinicius Cotta-de-Almeida, Deputy Coordinator for International Affairs. At a meeting in the castle, numerous professors from the Departments of Medicine and Biology discussed common research interests and planned joint activities, including the continuation of online seminars and the expansion of cooperation in doctoral studies or cotutelle procedures. After a tour of the city and the various campuses of the University of Münster, the delegation also visited the Multiscale Imaging Centre (MIC) and the Studienhospital Münster as well as the Limette.
The following news about the visit recently appeared on the central university website:
Rectorate welcomes partners from Brazil
Representatives of the Brazilian Fiocruz Foundation visit the university
The University of Münster has maintained intensive contacts with the largest country in South America not only since the founding of its Brazil Centre in 2010. With his five-day trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and São Paulo in February this year, Rector Prof. Dr. Johannes Wessels also underlined the importance of the diverse collaborations - for example, he signed an agreement in Rio de Janeiro with representatives of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) to intensify the cooperation. Several Fiocruz representatives are visiting the University of Münster these days to discuss further details. "The visit of our Brazilian partners enables us to tackle further cooperation steps and to fill the cooperation with concrete content," Johannes Wessels emphasises.The foundation, established in 1900 by the physician, bacteriologist, epidemiologist and hygienist Oswaldo Cruz, corresponds to the Robert Koch Institute in Germany. With around 12,000 employees in several contact points spread across the country, 48 own study programmes, nine magazines, its own TV channel and a budget in the billions, it is not only important in Brazil, but one of the most important public health research institutions in the world. Scientists of the University of Münster, such as biologist Prof. Dr. Stephan Ludwig, are therefore very happy about the cooperation - the director of the Institute of Molecular Virology was a guest at Fiocruz for the first time in 2010.
"Cooperation with Fiocruz offers great potential in many fields - not only in medicine, but also in biology and pharmacy," the expert emphasises. "There are also interesting connection points with areas of information systems, for example for epidemic modelling of disease outbreaks. We can therefore consider ourselves lucky that the interest in cooperation is mutual."
Joint doctoral procedures or regular joint online seminars on various infectious diseases would also be of great interest. Since Fiocruz works in a very applied way, there are many opportunities for technology transfer. "After all, numerous guest scientists from Brazil have already worked at my institute", adds Stephan Ludwig, "all of whom were very well trained and highly motivated”.
