American university Yale, the third oldest university in the US, has teamed up with Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), a public research university in China, for a research that focuses on translational medicine.

Translational medicine, also called translation science, aims to improve the health of individuals and the community by translation findings into medicines, medical procedures, or health policies.

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This field of medicine also focuses on personal approach to treatment, where patients are given medical solutions based on their specific conditions.

The two universities have signed a deal to form the SJTU-Yale Joint Center with the hope of leading the world in translational medicine and making breakthroughs in the treatment of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and other common public illnesses.

Improve Public Health

According to SJTU President Zhang Jie, the partnership of the two universities is a much needed development especially in China, whose population has reached 1.3 billion.

"The core mission of the joint center is to improve public health. That is a great concern especially for a country with such a huge population," Zhang said.

According to Zhang, personalized medicine provides great outcomes, and research on this field must be conducted to better address the common public medical health issues.

SJTU is China's leading university in terms of clinical medicine while Yale University has proven track records in biomedical statistics. With the collaboration, Yale will perform research and laboratory work while SJTU will focus on clinical practices.

The two universities will also embark on staff exchange for medical research and talent development. The joint center is also set to offer doctoral program on biological statistics in the next five years.

SJTU has 14 affiliate hospitals in China. These hospitals attended to more than 25 million outpatients and 679,000 inpatients last year.