International Research Collaboration
Shanghai, China, May 15, 2026
MRIN-UPH and Tongji Hospital forge AI-driven cancer research partnership in Shanghai
A landmark memorandum of cooperation signed in Shanghai launches a joint project harnessing artificial intelligence to improve early detection of liver metastasis in colorectal cancer patients, fully funded by the Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission.
Representatives from the Mochtar Riady Institute for Nanotechnology of Universitas Pelita Harapan (MRIN-UPH) visited Tongji Hospital of Tongji University in Shanghai on Friday, May 15, 2026, formalizing a significant new chapter in Indonesia–China academic cooperation. The delegation, comprising Prof. Irawan Yusuf, MD, PhD, Juandy Jo, MD, PhD, and Ariela Samantha, PhD, was welcomed by the hospital's Vice President, Prof. Shen Yuan, MD, PhD, along with senior physicians from the Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery (Prof. Hu Zhiqian, MD, PhD, and Li Xinxing, MD, PhD), and representatives from the Shanghai R&D Public Service Platform Management Center (Mr. He Xiliang and Mrs. Yan Hengqian).
The centerpiece of the visit was the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between MRIN-UPH officially launching the joint research project, titled "Construction and Clinical Translation of a Multimodal Artificial Intelligence-based Early Prediction Model for Postoperative Liver Metastasis in Colorectal Cancer", an initiative that supports both institutions in studying AI-assisted oncology. The project is led by Ariela Samantha, PhD, principal investigator at MRIN and lecturer in the Department of Biology at UPH. The activities will be conducted primarily at Tongji Hospital (supervised by Li Xinxing, MD, PhD) and East China Normal University (supervised by Prof. Wang Yan, PhD) in Shanghai.
Program : 2025 Innovation Ecosystem Construction Plan – GEN-S Program
Grant : RMB 400,000 (≈ IDR 1 billion)
Duration : 2 years
Funder : Shanghai Municipal Science and Technology Commission
The grant covers all major costs associated with the collaboration, including:
• Round-trip airfare between Jakarta and Shanghai for the researcher,
• Living allowances throughout the research period in Shanghai,
• All experimental and laboratory-related expenses for the project's duration.
During the visit, both teams presented their respective research programs and institutional strengths, identifying overlapping expertise in interdisciplinary medicine and data-driven diagnostics. The discussions underscored a shared conviction that multimodal AI models, integrating clinical, imaging, and molecular data, hold transformative potential for predicting postoperative outcomes in colorectal cancer, one of the most common and lethal malignancies worldwide. If validated, the prediction model developed through this collaboration could significantly advance the standard of care for colorectal cancer patients across both countries and beyond.