Cedars-Sinai Collaborates With Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center
The Israel-Based Medical Center Works With Cedars-Sinai to Advance Research in Five Key Areas
Cedars-Sinai and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center in Israel have formed a new research collaboration aimed at advancing healthcare innovation in five select areas.
A ceremony on March 5 in Tel Aviv was led by Shlomo Melmed, MB, ChB, executive vice president for Medicine and Health Sciences and dean of the Medical Faculty at Cedars-Sinai, and professor Ronni Gamzu, CEO of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.
“By leveraging the strengths and expertise of each of our health systems, this partnership paves the way for groundbreaking research, spurs innovative treatments and enhances patient care on a global scale,” Melmed said. “We look forward to building a tradition of mutual research and educational opportunities for our physicians and scientists.”
The initial research efforts in the partnership are big data science, regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy, proteomics, endocrinology, and oncology. Investigators from both institutions who specialize in these areas are working together to identify opportunities to share resources and data leading to new research projects.
The partnership, Gamzu said, is not just between friends in hospitals, but between countries.
“I look forward to seeing how Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, together with Cedars-Sinai, will bring innovation and shape the next generation of leaders and talented individuals who will help patients from all over the world,” said Gamzu.
And, in addition to advancing research and clinical collaborations, Melmed said the relationship with Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center offers an opportunity to advance technology startups in expanded markets.
“Together, we are poised to impact the lives of patients globally,” said Melmed.
Over the past 20 years, Cedars-Sinai has developed fruitful relationships with health systems and medical centers in Israel, including with Sheba Medical Center, a 2,000-bed hospital located outside Tel Aviv. The relationship began as a collaboration aimed primarily at advancing cardiovascular medicine and the field of interventional cardiology.
Current joint research projects with Sheba Medical Center include developing treatments for pancreatic cancer, advancing research findings into treatments for patients with inflammatory bowel disease, launching stem cells into space and expanding digital pathology diagnostics.
“Today our partnership has grown into a large research and translational enterprise, with shared resources and joint research databases used to advance research,” said Harry Sax, MD, professor and executive vice chair of Surgery and associate dean for International Academic Programs at Cedars-Sinai.
Sax said Cedars-Sinai has welcomed visiting Israeli trainees, and soon, Cedars-Sinai hopes to send its own trainees as visiting scholars in Israel. These collaborations, he said, will also allow investigators to better understand why the same disease—like breast cancer or Crohn’s disease—presents differently for patients in Israel versus the United States.
“The exchange of ideas between countries, coupled with computational biomedical techniques, will foster growth in unparalleled ways,” Sax Said. “Medical centers in Israel have a high level of energy and flexibility to advance medicine. Our mutual environments are ripe for innovation, and we are grateful to partner alongside esteemed medical centers in the country.”
Inset Photo Caption: Research signing participants toast after the signing ceremony. From left to right: Professor Eli Sprecher, vice president of Research & Development and Innovation at Tel Aviv University, professor Karen Avraham, dean of the Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Medicine, Melmed and Gamzu. Photo courtesy of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center.
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