Siemens Healthineers has teamed up with the University of Missouri System (UM System) and University of Missouri Health Care (MU Health Care) to establish the Alliance for Precision Health.

The German-based healthcare giant has entered into a $133 million 10-year Value Partnerships agreement with UM System, which includes all four universities, and MU Healthcare, in which it will supply both southern entities with diagnostic and therapeutic devices to enhance care delivery, promote education around technology and engineering, and help create research ventures.

“Our vision for the entire UM System is to advance the opportunities for success and well-being in Missouri, the nation and the world through transformative teaching, research, innovation, engagement and inclusion,” said UM System President Mun Y. Choi in a statement. “Forming an alliance with Siemens Healthineers enables us to work toward this mission by providing our university and health system with leading-edge technology and resources, unique research and collaboration opportunities, training for the next generation of the healthcare workforce, and expansion of our contributions to medicine and healthcare to rural Missouri and beyond.”

The alliance is expected to help the UM System complete research, educational and clinical care objectives for its highest priority, NextGen Precision Health Initiative, a statewide effort to provide treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s, cardiovascular disease and other illnesses that affect Missourians and people worldwide.

Among the equipment supplied will be laboratory and imaging technology, including the MAGNETOM Terra 7 Tesla MR scanner, for clinical and research purposes focused on furthering ultra-high field MR capabilities. The UM System will also have access to Siemens’ AI and health digitalization tools, such as syngo Virtual Cockpit, a software solution for connecting radiology technicians remotely to scanner workplaces to help personnel in different locations with sophisticated exams. Enterprise services and digital solutions will be provided as well, with Siemens utilizing insights about their products from the UM System and MU Health Care to improve upon the development of their medical technologies and services.

As part of the agreement, Students at all four universities will be able to access new curricula in fields of cybersecurity, data science, machine learning and AI for healthcare, with MU College of Engineering and Siemens offering mentorship opportunities for workforce development. In addition, researchers will utilize Siemens’ technology and the research expertise of the UM System to pursue future research projects around the advancement and implementation of precision medicine.

“This alliance will help the University of Missouri recruit and develop the world’s best and brightest researchers and students,” said MU Chancellor Alexander N. Cartwright. “Our medical, graduate and undergraduate students will have access to unprecedented educational, entrepreneurial and industry opportunities. They will graduate as some of the most qualified professionals and scholars in Missouri and beyond, and will go on to lead today’s — and tomorrow’s — healthcare workforce in such critical areas as cybersecurity, data science, artificial intelligence and even jobs we can’t imagine yet.”

The NextGen Precision Health Initiative will be led by the NextGen Precision Health Institute at the University of Missouri’s flagship institution in Columbia, Missouri.

All parties will jointly contribute to the establishment of the Alliance for Precision Health, with sums potentially up to $40 million.

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