Jefferson Israel Center

Since 2013, Thomas Jefferson University has cultivated a series of meaningful collaborative ties in Israel, setting the stage for the Jefferson Israel Center launch in June 2018 at the King David Hotel in Jerusalem. Jefferson and the Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA) jointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding, with the IIA committing $1 million to Israeli biotech start-ups for the primary purpose of expanding product development and validation within the Jefferson Health ecosystem.

Center Director Zvi Grunwald, MD, FASA

James D. Wentzler Professor and Emeritus Chair of Anesthesiology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University

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Strategic Pillars

Academic Vision

Broaden educational ties to embrace Israeli institutions in the architecture, design, engineering, textiles and fashion sectors, with a focus on creative joint educational programming and multidisciplinary R&D initiatives

Clinical Vision

Develop collaborative health services research projects, with a view towards addressing the needs of underserved populations in both the U.S. and Israel

Research Vision

Expand programmatic research collaborative ties with more Israeli academic centers, including all of its medical schools, as well as forefront Israeli innovation centers

Innovation Vision

Scale-up joint ventures with Israeli companies by leveraging Jefferson Strategic Ventures’ unique partnering strategies in conjunction with the Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA)

Team Members

Danielle DeSantis, MPH, CHES, Program Manager & Visitor Travel Coordinator (Danielle.DeSantis@jefferson.edu)
Zvi Grunwald, MD, FASA, James D. Wentzler Professor and Emeritus Chair of Anesthesiology, Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University (Zvi.Grunwald@jefferson.edu)
Yair Lev, MD, Director of International Visiting Students (Yair.Lev@jefferson.edu)

Highlights

Louis & Fannie Tolz Program for Weizmann Institute of Sciences (WIS)-Thomas Jefferson University Collaboration in Systems & Computational Biology: Launched in January 2013, this program has funded nine collaborative pairs of Jefferson-WIS scientists
Hebrew University-Jefferson Research Collaborative: Launched in May 2015, this program has funded five collaborative pairs of Jefferson-HU scientists

Partners

Sheba Medical Center: Smart and Healthy Cities, Rehabilitation Research, Population Health and other collaborative research programs
Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School: collaboration with the Sidney Kimmel Medical College
Weizmann Institute of Sciences
Shenkar College of Engineering and Design: Architecture, Fashion and Design programs
Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design
Ben-Gurion University of the Nevgev: Institute of Bioconvergence, Serving the Underserved, Education in Medicine, Joint PhD programs, Health Leadership Program, School of Population Health, Disaster Medicine Collaboration, Virtual Exchanges
Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA): joint call for proposals that will link Israeli healthcare start-ups with Jefferson’s expansive academic and clinical enterprise for the purpose of jointly propelling cutting-edge products and services to market

United States Office Location

1020 Walnut St
Suite 520
Philadelphia, PA 19107