OIST and Cleveland Clinic sign partnership agreement

At a ceremony on October 30, 2022, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the U.S.-based Cleveland Clinic. The ceremony, hosted by the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel, was attended by OIST President Peter Gruss and Cleveland Clinic COO William Peacock.

Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education and has led breakthroughs in medical technology since its founding in 1921.

The MOU establishes a research fellowship at OIST for a Cleveland Clinic medical student and will serve as a framework for a potential longer-term partnership between the two institutions. OIST hopes to build a strong relationship with the Cleveland Clinic and develop innovative health and science initiatives by leveraging the strengths of the two centers of excellence in Japan and the United States, respectively.

On October 30, 2022, the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) signed a memorandum of understanding with Cleveland Clinic. The ceremony, hosted by the U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel (center), was attended by OIST President Peter Gruss (right) and Cleveland Clinic COO William Peacock (left). Credit: U.S. Consulate General Naha

Copyright: U.S. Consulate General Naha

President Gruss commented on this new partnership: “We are proud to collaborate with an institution as renowned and well respected as the Cleveland Clinic. And we are excited at the great potential in front of us, which can expand the research opportunities between our two countries.”

At the signing ceremony, Ambassador Emanuel noted, “This is a significant step toward linking Okinawa’s universities with their U.S. counterparts across a variety of fields,” expressing his hopes that the partnership will promote Okinawa's future growth as a center of science, technology, and innovation, and ultimately strengthen the prefecture's human resources and economy.

James Stoller, Chair of the Education Institute at Cleveland Clinic, said, “We are excited for this new collaboration with a renowned institution like OIST. The relationship expands the scope of research opportunities for our talented medical students and will both further enhance our pipeline of talented physician-investigators and create synergies upon which to build.”