Funding was obtained through the NFR International Partnerships for Excellent Education and Research (INTPART). According the NFR, "The objective of the INTPART programme is to develop world-class research and education in Norway. The programme will create a framework for expanding cooperation between research groups considered to be at the international forefront today or that are believed to have the potential to become world leaders in their fields in the future." Main collaborators are presented below. Activities include workshops, research and student mobility, training, course development (MOOC) and summer schools.
USA: Prof. Kate Lapane, Division of Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases and Vulnerable Populations, The University of Massachusetts (UMass), USA
Prof. Lapane´s research group at UMass is world leading in epidemiological methods. Such methods are essential to PharmaTox. In specific, through this collaboration we wish to use simulations to predict effects of misclassification of medication exposure on pregnancy outcomes, perform mediation analyses and develop new ways of studying medication exposure using data-driven clustering techniques in the observational medication safety studies in PharmaTox.
BRAZIL: Prof. Lavinia Schuler-Faccini, Genetics Department, Vice-director Biosciences Institute, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre
As of today PharmaTox lacks training programs in embryology and genetic teratology. This expertise is found in Prof. Schuler-Faccini´s group enabling novel projects within the PharmaTox framework. Prof. Schuler-Faccini has taught and trained a large number of students in genetic teratology. Moreover, she runs the Brazilian Teratogen Information Service, located at UFRGS. UFRGS has a very strong focus on student mobility and international collaboration, and will be excellent hosts for our students.
RUSSIA: North-Western State Medical University n.a.Mechnikov (NWSMU), St. Petersburg
Partnership with Dr. Ksenia Zagorodnikova and her team will enable us to expand our current research collaboration in clinical pharmacology, including drug monitoring and pharmacogenetics training provided in their research laboratory. Dr.Ksenia Zagorodnikova and her team combine research and training in clinical pharmacology and teratology with clinical practice. This translational approach offers the possibility of close communication between "bench" and "bedside" in studies of drug neurotoxicity. An important advantage of this collaboration is the possibility to reach the large population of Russia in epidemiological studies.