Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) may have played a pivotal role Friday August 10, 2007 in strengthening international relations when it hosted medical professionals from the Peoples Republic of China (PRC). The group's trip was part of the U.S. Department of State's International Visitors Program.

The six-member public health team from the Shenyang Center for Disease Control — the Chinese equivalent of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — arrived at the invitation of MSM Global Health Task Force Chair Dr. Kofi Kondwani. Like the CDC, the Center in Northeast China serves a critical need in public health planning and emergency preparedness.

"The visit from the Chinese delegation from the Shenyang Center for Disease Control was important because it could foster a relationship between MSM  and the seven and a half million people in Shenyang, China." Kondwani said.

The delegate's campus visit included a presentation on the MSM Regional Coordinating Center for Hurricane Response (RCCHR) by RCCHR Community Liaison Dr. Ayanna Buckner. Associate Professor, MSM Microbiology, Biochemistry & Immunology Dr. Vincent Bond addressed MSM HIV/AIDS research. Associate Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology Dr. Teh-Ching Chu discussed MSM's leading role in the U.S. involving medical acupuncture and herbal medicine. Research Assistant Professor, Physiology Dr. Nerimiah Emmett conducted a campus tour for the delegation.

"Members of the delegation stated that prior to receiving the invitation to visit MSM, they were unaware of the existence of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States," Kondwani stated.

The U.S. trip to observe Western medicine and culture was a first for most in the group. The Chinese medical professionals and their three interpreters visited Atlanta as part of a three-city U.S. tour. The group also traveled to Seattle and Washington D.C.