NEW YORK — Qiagen said on Thursday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pennsylvania State University to support research at the school's One Health Microbiome Center (OHMC), which will act as a testing center for some of the company's new products.
Under the three-year agreement, financial terms of which were not disclosed, Qiagen will provide OHMC with resources including instruments, reagents, and sample prep kits for microbiome profiling, as well as opportunities for graduate students to pursue internships in microbiome technology research and development at Qiagen's European headquarters in Hilden, Germany. Qiagen may also select Penn State labs to test and assess new microbiome sciences products.
"By bridging the gap between academia and industry in a multiyear partnership, we are well positioned to shape the future of a university-industry alliance in the microbiome sciences and to equip our students, research, and educational endeavors with the formative capacities to lead the way in microbiome solutions for human health, agricultural output, and environmental sustainability," OHMC Director Seth Bordenstein said in a statement.
Nitin Sood, senior VIP and head of Qiagen's life sciences business area, added in the statement that the partnership is also expected to "foster relationships with the microbiome research community and enable us to better develop new products for microbiome research based on direct customer feedback."