British and Israeli experts collaborate on finding cures for major diseases
November 21, 2011
A delegation of 60 British top academics are visiting Israel this week to launch a groundbreaking programme to promote collaboration between the two countries in regenerative medicine as part of the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange Partnership (BIRAX)
BIRAX was originally designed by the British Council in Israel in 2008 in collaboration with Pears Foundation and academic leaders from both countries. It was launched by the British and Israeli prime ministers with the aim of enhancing research and academic cooperation, creating new institutional links for the future and strengthening academic links between universities in the UK and Israel.
Over 250 people will participate in the first UK-Israel Regenerative Medicine Conference at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev on 22-23 November, with millions of people who have suffered major trauma, heart disease and Parkinson’s disease standing to benefit from this first-ever gathering of specialists.
Regenerative Medicine aims to restore the function of tissues and organs using a variety of approaches including cell therapy, tissue engineering, gene therapy and biomedical engineering. Both Israel and the UK are recognised as world leaders in this cutting-edge area of medicine.
The conference is the inaugural event of the BIRAX – Regenerative Medicine Initiative, a five-year programme that aims to raise £10 million and will give generous support to 15 joint high quality UK-Israel research projects. Projects will be selected by an expert panel and approved by the UK-Israel Life Sciences Council.
Matthew Gould, British Ambassador to Israel, said: “Britain and Israel are natural partners in regenerative medicine. The UK is a world leader in science – we have four of the world’s top ten universities – and Israe lis a scientific powerhouse. We can achieve much more together than we can apart. My hope is that this conference leads to a surge of collaborations between British and Israeli scientists, with the UK-Israel Regenerative Medicine programme stimulating ground-breaking research projects.”
The UK-Israel Life Sciences Council – a group of 19 top scientists from both countries which met for the first time in Jerusalem in January 2011–decided that the BIRAX programme should focus on the area of regenerative medicine. This senior group of scientists includes four Nobel prize winners, three members of the House of Lords, presidents of universities, and some of the most distinguished scientists in the world.
Pears Foundation and the UJIA, as well as the British and Israel governments are among the supporters of the programme.
Trevor Pears, Executive Chair of Pears Foundation said: “We are delighted to see our partnership with the British Council and the British Government continue to deepen academic cooperation and research between Britain and Israel. We hope that these links will continue to grow and flourish for the benefit of Britain, Israel and the world.”
Globes article