April 13, 2011

A $10 million collaborative brain research agreement has been signed between Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland.

 

The agreement, which was signed last week in the presence of Israel’s President, Shimon Peres, calls for a combined investment to be raised by Hebrew University’s Edmond and Lilly Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC) and EPFL, for the first five years of operations.

 

The investment will include joint laboratories and research projects, as well as fellowships for graduate students, and is the opening round in a strategic program spurred by Peres to establish Israel as a leading player in international brain research.

 

The two institutions will work cooperatively to advance research towards better understanding of brain mechanisms controlling behavior and cognition and to study effective methods for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s Alzheimer’s and autism.

 

At the event, Peres said: “This partnership between top Israeli scientists and their Swiss counterparts proves that science and innovation have no borders and no distances, and that the common denominator is the striving for a better future. Together as a global team, and with the right direction, we shall contribute to building an additional step on the way to helping shape a better future for mankind.”

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