10 million dollars will be raised for the benefit of the joint projects
A research cooperation agreement between the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Neuroscience at the Hebrew University and the EPFL research institute in Lausanne in the field of brain research was recently signed in Switzerland in the capacity of the country's president Mr. Shimon Peres. As part of the agreement, 10 million dollars will be invested in the program in the next five years, which will be raised by both parties for the purpose of establishing joint laboratories, joint research projects and scholarships for research students. The fund is the opening shot as part of a strategic move that President Peres is leading to position Israel as a leader in brain research, as it did in the past in the field of nanotechnology.
The program was launched last Monday, March 28, 2011, at a festive evening in Switzerland with the participation of the country's president, Shimon Peres, the president of the Hebrew University, Prof. Menachem Ben-Shashon, and the academic director of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Neuroscience, Prof. Elon Vadia.
The President of the State welcomed the agreement on the eve of the launch and said "This partnership between senior Israeli scientists and their Swiss colleagues proves that science and innovation have no borders and no distance and they are a common denominator striving for a better future. Together, as a global team moving in the right direction, we can contribute to building another step that will help design a better future for humanity."
"The signed agreement reflects the strong commitment of the Hebrew University to the development of research, teaching and the research reserve in the field of brain research", said the president of the university, "the ambition is that the cooperation will contribute to brainstorming and scientific breakthroughs". Prof. Ben-Shashon said at the launch event that "the evening stands for "change makers" and the mission of brain research is already creating a change in the ways of interdisciplinary research and in finding a balm for medical problems." The president of the university pointed out that "this evening, change-makers are gathered, including the host of the evening, Mr. Philip Arnon, who is a leader of change in accordance with his family heritage, the "Hamon" family, who were the thinkers of the Jewish public in the Ottoman Empire, as well as the president of the state, who brought about changes in the State of Israel on many fronts and is now bringing about change in the dimension of the presidency . Peres is a president that presidents from all over the world come to seek his advice. The two universities that set out to cooperate set out to bring about the great change in neuroscience," he added.
The Hebrew University and EPFL will collaborate in three main areas: the study of basic brain mechanisms such as cognition and perception; understanding and curing common diseases originating in the brain such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and autism; and the development and application of neuroengineering technologies.
"The collaboration with EPFL in brain research is consistent with the interdisciplinary concept advocated by the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Neuroscience," says Prof. Vadia, who will manage the joint projects together with his counterpart in Lausanne. These days the center is recruiting new scientists to take part in these projects.
