On April 23, 2026, a delegation from the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto, led by Dean Adalsteinn Brown, visited the Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine. The delegation was received by Vice Chancellor Zheng Junke, Dean Wang Hui of School of Public Health, and Acting Director of the International Affairs Office Lu Zhaohui, among others.
Vice Chancellor Zheng Junke extended a warm welcome to the visiting delegation. He noted that global medicine is advancing rapidly, with continuous breakthroughs in cutting-edge fields such as precision medicine and AI-driven healthcare. International collaboration has become a key driver of medical progress. Both the Shanghai Municipal Government and SJTU School of Medicine place great importance on strategic cooperation with the University of Toronto. He expressed hope that this visit would serve as an opportunity to deepen substantive collaboration in areas such as public health research, implementation science, and joint student training, thereby enhancing the global health governance influence of both institutions.
Adalsteinn Brown expressed sincere appreciation for the warm reception and provided a comprehensive overview of the development history and academic strengths of the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. He emphasized that global interconnections in public health are becoming increasingly close, and that collaboration among international academic institutions has become a crucial foundation for improving talent cultivation and advancing scientific innovation. Dean Brown also expressed strong expectations for future cooperation, particularly hoping that deeper exchanges in implementation science research would contribute to the advancement of global health development.
The meeting focused on two key areas: establishing a joint student training program and co-founding an International Center for Implementation Science. Both sides explored the feasibility of leveraging SJTU School of Medicine’s extensive affiliated hospital network, integrating resources and expertise from the School of Public Health and the proposed research center, and conducting substantive collaborative research projects. They also reached a preliminary agreement on launching a three-year dual-degree master’s program in public health.
Zheng Junke and Adalsteinn Brown signed a Memorandum of Understanding and a Student Joint Training Agreement on behalf of their respective institutions. Under the agreement, students enrolled in the Master of Public Health program at SJTU School of Medicine will have the opportunity to study at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health during their second year. Upon fulfilling the required coursework and research criteria, students will be awarded both a master’s degree from SJTU School of Medicine and a Master of Science in Health Policy, Management and Evaluation from the University of Toronto. The signing of this agreement establishes a high-level international training platform for students and marks a new stage in talent development cooperation between the two institutions.
Following the signing ceremony, both parties jointly inaugurated the “International Center for Implementation Science” at SJTU School of Medicine. Vice President Zheng presented Dean Brown with an honorary board member certificate for the center. The establishment of this center represents a significant milestone in advancing global collaboration and strengthening research translation capacity at SJTU School of Medicine, as well as an important step in aligning with the global public health community.
After the meeting, Dean Wang Hui guided the University of Toronto delegation on a tour of the School of Public Health, including several departments and research centers. The visit showcased SJTU School of Medicine’s high-level research and applied development in areas such as single-cell omics and disease research, women’s and children’s health, and social medicine and health administration, highlighting the school’s substantial contributions to the development of public health systems in Shanghai and across China.
The University of Toronto (UoT), founded in 1827, is a public collegiate research university in Canada with three campuses and more than 100,000 students. It is widely recognized as one of the world’s leading institutions of higher education. In the 2026 QS World University Rankings, UoT is ranked 29th globally, and its School of Public Health ranks 6th worldwide in the 2025 ShanghaiRanking Global Ranking of Academic Subjects. With its large-scale interdisciplinary research, strong government partnerships, and global health initiatives, the University of Toronto is the most productive and influential institution in the field of public health research in Canada.
