NIAID Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Sheba Medical Center of Israel

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In December, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the Sheba Medical Center, part of Israel’s Ministry of Health, signed a Memorandum of Understanding to further infectious disease research collaborations between U.S.-funded and Israel-funded scientists. Signers of the agreement were Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., director of NIAID, and Yitshak Kreiss, M.D., director general of the Sheba Medical Center. 

The partnership grew out of a need for more cooperation in biomedical research, a critical part of preparing for the next pathogen of pandemic or endemic potential. The memorandum represents the continuation of the existing relationship between NIAID’s Vaccine Research Center (VRC) in Bethesda, Md., and Sheba Medical Center. 

Daniel Douek, M.D., Ph.D., chief of the VRC’s Human Immunology Section traveled to Israel to meet with representatives of Sheba and celebrate the opening of the Sheba Pandemic Preparedness Research Institute (SPRI). 

 “What this does is to formalize the relationship between our two organizations, not just legally so that we can exchange ideas and exchange materials and project intellectual property, but it formalizes the relationship at an intergovernmental level,” Douek said. “We’re already collaborating. We’ve been collaborating for a few years on COVID-19 and other projects.” 

A joint study published recently in Nature Communications found common immune responses in people infected with different SARS-CoV-2 variants, which may explain why COVID-19 vaccines against older variants continue to be effective against newer variants. 

Studies, consistent exchanges of research and scientific materials, and routine visits by scientists to both organizations will continue under the agreement. 

“Sheba needs the NIH, and the NIH needs Sheba for the future benefit of humanity,” Douek said. 

 

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