Oklahoma State University: Transatlantic Partnership Between OSU Vet Med And University Of Nantes To Advance

Press release from Oklahoma State University:

October 19, 2021

Media Contact: Derinda Blakeney | College of Veterinary Medicine | 405-744-6740 | derinda@okstate.edu

A new international partnership between Oklahoma State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Nantes in France will lead to exciting opportunities for faculty and students under the umbrella of One Global Health Medicine.

The collaboration aims to promote cooperation in instruction, research and outreach including various forms of exchange (both in person and remotely) among students and faculty within the two institutions.

The partnership will utilize complementary strengths, including unique state-of-the-art expertise and institutional resources, to tackle multifaceted disease problems and develop novel therapeutic strategies to enhance the wellbeing of animals, people and the environment.

This transatlantic partnership was fostered by the individual initiatives and research collaborations of internationally recognized faculty, including scientists and clinicians with a successful track record of independent research — Dr. Veronique Lacombe from OSU and Drs. Benjamin Lauzier and Yannick Guilloux from the UN.

A veterinarian/scientist, Lacombe is a professor in the Department of Physiological Sciences at the OSU CVM. She leads the Comparative Metabolism Laboratory, which investigates glucose metabolism during metabolic diseases and novel metabolic therapeutic strategies that could be beneficial to both veterinary and human patients. She also teaches at the professional and graduate levels.

“The pandemic has highlighted the critical need for One Health Medicine, and I am excited to work on such a global initiative with European leaders in biomedical research and medicine,” Lacombe said. “While visiting the University of Nantes, I have been impressed with the rich environment that UN offers, including research centers of excellence. I hope this international partnership will also inspire other faculty, as well as students and postdoctoral trainees, to join and develop this novel transatlantic academic network of excellence.

“In addition to using digital technology, faculty and graduate students from both institutions could travel abroad to enhance and share their knowledge and research skills while being exposed to a diverse environment and culture, including the beautiful lakes in Stillwater and the vibrant city of Nantes.”

Guilloux and Lauzier are faculty at the College of Sciences and Technology of UN and graduate program coordinators. They are also well-established scientists at the Research Center of Oncology and Immunology and the Thorax Institute, respectively.

“The COVID-19 situation gave us an incredible opportunity to demonstrate that working remotely (from any distance actually) was possible," Lauzier said. "We have established a strong and lasting working relationship with professor Lacombe’s team that will lead to joint funding requests, hosting of master and Ph.D. students, and much more. I hope that these relationships will serve as a springboard for other teams and that the relationship between our two institutions will be fruitful.”

This partnership will also provide high-impact international experiences for the next generation of scientists, as illustrated by the ongoing research/teaching activities between the research teams of Lacombe and Lauzier. OSU CVM graduate students have already been beneficiaries of such exchanges.

“I highly anticipate our biweekly virtual journal club/seminar series with the University of Nantes,” said Matthew Rochowski, a graduate research assistant in Lacombe’s lab. “The exchanges with faculty, scientists and students are always very stimulating and will help me become a well-rounded scientist. In addition, the research collaboration with Dr. Lauzier’s lab at the Thorax Institute gives me a great opportunity to be exposed to unique research methods and novel medical research. In particular, they are able to perform a state-of-the-art experiment that I am unable to do myself that will be instrumental toward the successful completion of my Ph.D. dissertation. In return, I will perform a unique experiment to measure glucose transport that Dr. Lacombe’s lab has mastered. I also hope to have the opportunity to visit Europe as part of these scientific exchanges.”

Lauzier added, “At the academic level, we will also be able to be innovative by allowing students to benefit from the expertise of the different universities. This is very motivating!”

This is germane to the fact that both institutions are among the top institutions worldwide based on indicators linked to research and innovation.

“I am impressed that professor Lacombe and my colleagues, Drs. Benjamin Lauzier and Yannick Guilloux, took the initiative to develop a cooperation on a subject that is key to both our institutions. I trust this MOU is the first step towards a Memorandum of Agreement whereby we will implement exchange programs for our students and faculty in the One Health field in the near future,” said Isabelle Richard, vice president for European affairs and international relations at the UN.

This international partnership with a European peer institution will contribute to OSU’s land-grant mission and will build on Oklahoma State University’s proud legacy of extensive international outreach for more than 50 years.

“We welcome this new partnership with the University of Nantes, as we think this type of partnership extends our passion for addressing global needs, as articulated in the UN’s sustainable development goals,” said Dr. Randy Kluver, associate provost and dean of OSU’s School of Global Studies and Partnerships. “We look forward to partnering with this prestigious university to further our mutual goal of advancing global health.”

OSU provides a supportive and collaborative interdisciplinary research environment with excellent access to infrastructure and offers excellent training opportunities.

“With our available graduate studies and research programs, collaborating with the UN will enhance the academic and research interchange between our two institutions,” said Dr. Jerry Malayer, CVM senior associate dean of research and graduate education. “Many of our centers of research excellence overlap with research themes undertaken at the UN including, but not limited to, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and oncology.”

OSU CVM Dean Dr. Carlos Risco said, “We are excited for the opportunity to collaborate with the University of Nantes in research and instructional activities in One Health to promote global well-being. This partnership will allow faculty and students from both institutions to combine their strengths and experience to accelerate scientific innovation, productivity and discovery. This partnership will also support our college vision, which is to be innovative world leaders in health care, research and professional education.”

This press release was produced by Oklahoma State University. The views expressed here are the author’s own.