TAU-Stanford-Berkeley initiative tackles medicine and digital living
The initiative is funded by the San Francisco-based Koret Foundation.
By LIDAR GRAVÉ-LAZIUpdated: MARCH 23, 2018 00:42Tel Aviv University campus(photo credit: PR)
Tel Aviv University together with two leading US institutions – Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley – has announced a $10 million initiative designed to advance breakthroughs in medical and information technology.The initiative is funded by the San Francisco-based Koret Foundation, which aims to elevate the quality of life for all who live in the Bay Area and support the US-Israeli relationship and the global Jewish community.The five-year grant will bring together leading scholars from the three institutions to conduct multidisciplinary research in the fields of bioinformatics and computational biology as well as smart cities and digital living.“We welcome these faculty research relationships,” said Prof. Joseph Klafter, president of TAU. “We are deeply grateful to the Koret Foundation for supporting new joint paths toward discovery and real-world impact.”Klafter is currently visiting the San Francisco Bay Area, where earlier this week he signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UC Berkeley Chancellor Prof. Carol Tecla Christ and Stanford University Dean of Engineering Prof. Jennifer Widom.Dr. Anita Friedman, head of the foundation, said her organization is “tremendously excited to support research collaboration between leading faculty that will have practical implications for all of us around the world.”“She added: “We look forward to seeing what the pioneers of these fields from Israel and the United States can do together.”The Koret Program for Bioinformatics and Computational Biology will be run by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics at TAU and the Center of Computational Biology at Berkeley. The aim is to develop computational tools that integrate genetic, genomic and other data for medical purposes.The initiative will award joint research grants to groups at both institutions, hold annual joint workshops and seminars for the TAU and Berkeley bioinformatics communities, operate a visiting-scientist program and facilitate a joint summer research program.
