The British Council, known globally for its 90-year history of fostering international relationships through arts, culture, and education, has carved out a unique niche in Israel. For over a decade, its focus has been on building bridges between British and Israeli scientists, creating a powerful synergy in research innovation.
To tackle one of humanity’s most pressing challenges, the Britain-Israel Research and Academic Exchange (BIRAX) program is injecting fresh energy – and substantial funding – into the quest to understand healthy aging. With a new NIS 12 million investment, this British-Israeli partnership is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in age-related research at leading UK and Israeli universities. This latest funding builds upon a decade of successful collaboration that has already seen NIS 55 million invested in impressive scientific advancements.
“In Israel, we are unique in what we do, which has the potential to impact the whole world,” said Ravit Capauner, the British Council’s head of BIRAX. “The scientific collaboration between Israeli and British scientists benefits millions.”According to Capauner, this impact is quantifiable. Analysis shows that UK-Israeli joint research consistently produces higher-quality outcomes than separate efforts from either country.
BIRAX scientists from leading Israeli and British universities recently participated in an international BIRAX Healthy Aging conference at the Bar-Ilan University campus in Ramat Gan. The four-day international conference – Longevity Nation, Enhancing Research, Development, and Education for Healthy Longevity – brought together leading researchers, developers, educators, and public figures from Israel and worldwide.
The conference was organized by Dr. Ilia Stambler from the Vetek (“Seniority”) Association, in partnership with BIRAX as well as the Graduate Program in Science, Technology, and Society at Bar-Ilan University.
“Given the ongoing war in Israel, is this the best time to be thinking about longevity and the preservation of health in old age,” he was asked. “Absolutely,” said Stambler. “We should continue to think about and work for healthy longevity even now, to improve national resilience that will help us overcome the present adversity and maintain the basis for positive development in the future.”
One of the conference days was devoted to BIRAX’s groundbreaking work. Robert Edwards, UK science and innovation network regional manager, Eastern Mediterranean at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, emphasized the partnership’s value in his opening remarks via Zoom. “The UK fully recognizes the amazing scientific and innovation landscape in Israel and the huge benefit we have in collaborating together,” he said.
The conference addressed the multifaceted challenges associated with an aging global population. “We were able to extend the lifespan, but currently the last 10 years of a person’s life have a range of disabilities. We expect that gap to grow further. That’s why it is important to put all the research effort into healthy aging,” said Dr. Abigail Goshen, chief scientific and innovation officer at the Sheba Longevity Center, the world’s first longevity clinic operating in a publicly funded hospital.
BIRAX, an initiative of the British Council and the British Embassy in Israel and whose founding partner is the Pears Foundation, has so far funded 26 groundbreaking research projects since the program’s inception 12 years ago, at a total of NIS 55 million. Now it is setting its sights on six new ventures, totaling NIS 12 million, that could reshape our understanding of aging.
Among the projects getting the green light is exploring ways to “rejuvenate” blood vessels, potentially slowing down aging. Another team is developing cutting-edge digital tools for early Alzheimer’s detection. The three-year research grants will include innovative technologies, personalized medicine, and big data studying age effects on health, emphasizing diseases such as heart, vascular, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and immunology.
The breakthroughs in previous collaboration rounds included diagnosing Parkinson’s disease through breath tests and creating the largest database of its kind in brain research and its changes throughout life.
“The program and its impacts put Israeli-British research achievements on the world science map,” said Prof. Avi Domb, chief scientist at the Israel Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology.
The exemplary story of Effectivate
As his father’s vacant eyes wandered around the room, Shai Granot felt his heart sink. When their gazes met, there was no spark of recognition, no hint of the father-son bond they once shared.
“It was devastating when my father looked at me as if I was a stranger,” Granot recalls. “That moment changed everything.”
From this painful personal experience emerged Effectivate, an innovative Israeli start-up dedicated to transforming how we approach cognitive health for people over age 55.
The company’s mission is to strengthen memory and cognitive abilities before significant decline sets in – a critical window of opportunity that Granot observed was primarily overlooked by existing solutions.
“During my research, I made a surprising discovery,” Granot explains in his Tel Aviv office. “While the cognitive health market was growing, no one specifically targeted adults in their 50s – precisely when intervention could have the most impact. That’s when I understood that prevention is the key to successful aging.”
What sets Effectivate apart is its sophisticated use of artificial intelligence to create personalized cognitive training programs. Developed by a team of leading brain researchers and neuropsychologists, the platform adapts to each user’s abilities and can detect subtle cognitive changes over time.
“It’s like a precision tool for the mind,” Granot says. “Just as a machine needs regular maintenance and some bolts tightened, our brains require consistent, targeted stimulation to maintain optimal function.”
In the five years since its launch, Effectivate has done the following:
- Facilitated more than 27 million cognitive training sessions
- Partnered with Israel’s most prominent hospitals
- Become integrated into Clalit, Israel’s largest healthcare provider
- Established a promising partnership with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) as part of its recent North American expansion.
The platform features 28 scientifically designed games targeting different cognitive domains. Each day, the user can complete a workout with several games chosen by the algorithm. In addition, the user can choose the length of the training session.
In one engaging memory exercise, participants are presented with pairs of faces and names to study and commit to memory. The challenge then unfolds as a sequence of different individuals appears on screen, requiring players to accurately identify the previously memorized faces and recall their associated names.
To enhance the learning experience, an Effectivate scientist offers a helpful video tutorial that shares evidence-based techniques and practical strategies for improving facial recognition and name recall, which are valuable skills in everyday social interactions. The program features short videos interspersed amid the training sessions, featuring memory tips and strategies by Eran Katz, a best-selling author and Israeli Guinness World Record holder in memory stunts. He was able to recite 500 numbers forward and backward after hearing them once
“Effectivate has evolved beyond purely cognitive training,” says Granot. “We’ve grown into a comprehensive wellness hub.”
The platform now offers free online yoga and Pilates classes, recognizing the vital connection between physical health and mental health.
Looking ahead, the company is developing an algorithm to alert physicians when users show signs of cognitive decline, potentially enabling earlier medical intervention. This feature could revolutionize the monitoring and maintenance of cognitive health in aging populations.
A recently published clinical study found that people who used the Effectivate training program could better understand speech in noisy environments than in a control group. This is even though Effectivate wasn’t designed to improve hearing or language skills. It seems to have created broader improvements in cognitive abilities that helped with speech understanding. “What began as a personal mission to help people like my father has grown into something much bigger,” Granot says.
Walter Bingham: Guest of honor
One hundred-year-old journalist Walter Bingham was a guest of honor at the opening of the four-day international conference on longevity hosted by Bar-Ilan University’s Science, Technology, and Society Program. How does Bingham keep young? Very simply: “I put soup in my salt and coffee in my sugar,” he jokes with the audience. He also eats little and drinks a lot (of water). And his cane? It’s just for decoration, he says as he ably moves about. Mostly, though, he credits his longevity first and foremost to the Almighty and good genes.
A Holocaust survivor who turns 101 on January 5, 2025, Bingham has lived a long, healthy life that has been productive and decorated. He was a member of the British Army and landed on the beaches of Normandy. He was awarded the Military Medal for Bravery in the Field by King George VI and received France’s highest honor, the Légion d’honneur for his participation in the Normandy landings. In 1971, he piloted a round-trip flight from London to Israel. And he celebrated his centennial with a skydive over the Dead Sea!
Bingham, who hosts a radio show on Arutz 7 and writes regularly for The Jerusalem Report, is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest working journalist and radio broadcaster on the planet.
Following his remarks, conference chairman Dr. Ilia Stambler, of Bar-Ilan’s Science, Technology, and Society Program and the Vetek Association, presented Bingham with his book Longevity Promotion: Multidisciplinary Perspectives.