Liverpool visit to UGA marks 10 year partnership milestone and future collaboration plans

University of Georgia signage and flowerbed in front

UGA campus

A delegation from the University of Liverpool visited the University of Georgia (UGA) to celebrate a milestone 10 years of partnership and plan new research collaborations at a life sciences workshop.

The University of Liverpool-UGA partnership and its new strategy for health and life sciences research collaboration exemplifies the commitments made under the Atlantic Declaration signed by the US President and UK Prime Minister last year, to strengthen bilateral collaboration between the two countries. The plans reflect shared ambitions to bolster future health and economic resilience against a growing and diverse spectrum of biological threats.

At the Collaborative Frontiers in the Life Sciences: Future Health Challenges workshop, researchers from both Universities explored collaborative opportunities in responding to disease threats, multi-omics approaches impacting on One Health, food systems, emerging tools in computational life sciences and genetics, genomics and bioinformatics.

In support of the Collaborative Frontiers in the Life Sciences: Future Health Challenges workshop, UGA have announced a pump priming grant program to encourage the development of sustainable international research and service activities between academics at the two Universities.

Rachel Galloway, Consul General to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Atlanta gave an opening address at the workshop. She said: “Under the Atlantic Declaration signed by the US President and UK Prime Minister last year, our two nations have committed to strengthening our bilateral collaboration. The deep ties between our people and civil societies, and our research institutions and commercial enterprises, allow us to enjoy unique cooperation in science and the technologies of the future. This is illustrated perfectly by partnerships such as this one between University of Liverpool and UGA – a brilliant model for transatlantic cooperation with scholarship, research, innovation and most importantly, people at its heart.”

The visit, led by Professor Tariq Ali, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement and Partnerships, also included a reception celebrating ten years of scholarly exchange, collaborative endeavours and shared achievements.

Dr. S. Jack Hu, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at UGA said: “UGA’s partnership with the University of Liverpool is very impactful in a number of ways, from enhancing the international experience for our students to the productive research collaborations helping to address the important challenges of our time. This visit has shown that there is great potential for further partnership opportunities in a wide range of areas.”

Professor Tariq Ali, Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Global Engagement and Partnerships at the University of Liverpool said: “I’m delighted to make my first visit to the beautiful UGA campus and I have been inspired by the opportunities and conversations taking place. I know that we can build on our strong foundations to benefit and impact our communities, our countries and others across the globe.”