On June 25, Joe Oliver, minister of finance, announced, on behalf of Rona Ambrose, minister of health, that Canada and Israel are teaming up on a bold new research effort. Oliver was joined by Rafael Barak, Israel’s Ambassador to Canada, Dr. Naomi Azrieli, Chair and CEO of the Azrieli Foundation, Dr. Jean Lebel, president of Canada’s International Development Research Centre, and Dr. Alain Beaudet, president of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
The joint Canada-Israel Health Research Program is a seven-year, $35 million program that draws on the scientific strengths of Canadian and Israeli researchers in the broad field of biomedicine. The program will fund up to 30 research projects involving researchers from Canada and Israel with an initial focus on the neurosciences.
The program is a partnership between the Azrieli Foundation, Canada’s International Development Research Centre, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and the Israel Science Foundation. The research teams will integrate researchers from low- and middle-income countries to further their scientific capacity.
“Canada and Israel are renowned for excellence in health research, particularly in the neurosciences,” Oliver says. “The Canada-Israel Health Research Program harnesses the collective energies of our two great nations to pursue basic biomedical research aimed at improving health outcomes for Canadians, Israelis, and people throughout the world. I am pleased to note that researchers in developing countries will have an opportunity to contribute to these research endeavours as well.”
