On the afternoon of April 8, 2024, a delegation from Johns Hopkins Medicine (JHM) visited Tongji Hospital(TJH). The delegation included Prof. Lonny Yarmus, Vice Chair for Clinical Business Development & Strategy, Department of Medicine and Director of Interventional Pulmonology at JHM, Prof. Rebecca Stone, Director of the Kelly Gynecologic Oncology Service, Prof. Hanghang Wang of Cardiac Surgery, Zhang Chengda, Director of Medical International Business. Prof. Zhu Wentao, Vice President of Tongji Hospital, met with Prof. Lonny Yarmus and his team at the hospital, and the relevant persons in charge of Cardiac and Major Vascular Surgery, Gynecologic Oncology, Respiratory Medicine, International Exchange Office, and International Medical Service also attended the meeting.
On behalf of TJH, Zhu Wentao firstly expressed his warm welcome to Prof. Lonny Yarmus and his team. He introduced the history, medical service, technical advantages, and international exchange of Tongji Hospital to the delegation. He pointed out that the mission of Johns Hopkins Medicine is to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care, which coincided with the patient-centered philosophy of TJH. And the two hospitals have a great foundation and prospect for cooperation and development in the future.
Professor Lonny Yarmus, on behalf of the delegation, expressed his gratitude to TJH for the considerate arrangement and introduced the establishment, development, mission and vision of JHM. He also shared the organizational structure of JHM and the responsibilities of JHM International, and earnestly hoped that there would be an opportunity to build a platform with TJH, to promote the development of healthcare industry, and make joint efforts to improve global health.
After the meeting, the three experts were invited to departments for academic exchanges.
Prof. Wei Xiang, Director of Cardiac Surgery of TJH, invited Prof. Wang to observe transapical beating-heart septal myectomy in the operating room. Afterwards, in the conference room of Cardiac Surgery, Prof. Wang shared the experience of JHM in cardiothoracic surgery. She together with Juan B. Grau from the Valley Hospital, who was learning at Prof. Wei's department, had an in-depth discussion on the surgical treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with Prof. Wei and his team.
Prof. Xie Min, Deputy Director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of TJH, invited Prof. Lonny Yarmus to visit the General Ward of Respiratory, RICU, Bronchoscopy Center, and Pulmonary Function Test Center. During the visit, Prof. Yarmus had an in-depth communication with TJH experts on routine bronchoscopy, EBUS operation, bronchoscopic biopsy and their clinical applications. Afterwards, Prof. Yarmus gave a lecture on "Innovations in Minimally Invasive Lung Biopsy", presenting the advantages, indications, operation techniques and complications of minimally invasive lung biopsy, which triggered a lively discussion among the attending experts.
Prof. Gao Qinglei, Director of Gynecologic Oncology, invited Professor Stone to visit the Obstetrics and Gynecology Ward and Clinical Research Center Phase I on Sino-French New City campus of TJH, as well as the scientific research and clinical translational platform led by Academician Ma Ding's team. Prof. Gao introduced the latest progress made by her team in basic and clinical research in the past 20 years. Prof. Stone shared JHM’s experience in early diagnosis of ovarian cancer and prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy. The two teams had an in-depth academic discussion on early diagnosis, screening, prophylactic salpingo-oophorectomy of ovarian cancer, as well as the clinical diagnostic and treatment strategies for patients with BRCA mutation. Prof. Stone expressed her high recognition of the research results of TJH’s gynecologic oncology team and was looking forward to future cooperation.
As a global top medical organization, Johns Hopkins Medicine is committed to providing quality medical services for global patients and building an exchange platform for global medical experts. This visit has established a good foundation for future cooperation between the two medical institutions. Tongji Hospital will actively encourage its staff to go abroad, learn from the international medical frontiers, spread Chinese medical technology, and contribute Tongji's power to building a shared future for mankind.
