ISRAEL INNOVATION PROJECT

Professors Richard D’Aquila of Northwestern University and Itai Benhar of Tel Aviv University reflected on the increased interest in infectious disease careers caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and how the shift to virtual interactions may promote future international research collaboration. Their remarks were part of the inaugural webinar event of Northwestern’s Israel Innovation Project (IIP), “In the Aftermath of COVID-19: The Impact on Science and Research” on December 9, 2020.

Northwestern’s Israel Innovation Project (IIP) held its inaugural webinar on December 9, 2020. The event, titled “In the Aftermath of COVID-19: The Impact on Science and Research”, featured panelists Prof. Richard D’Aquila of Northwestern University and Prof. Itai Benhar of Tel Aviv University. The panel discussion was moderated by Dean Charles Whitaker of the Medill School of Journalism, and tackled questions about the scientific consequences of COVID-19 and how society will change due to the pandemic.

Research ventures related to COVID-19 received seed funding as part of the Northwestern University – Tel Aviv University Joint Research Program. The one-time, $50,000 awards were part of a collaborative project between the McCormick School of Engineering’s Global Initiatives office, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences’ Israel Innovation Project (IIP), and TAU’s newly established Center for Combating Pandemics. NU and TAU teamed up in 2020 to distribute a Call for Proposals and provide funding through the generosity of the Crown Family Fund for Engineering and Science Collaborations with Israel.

On January 19th and 20th, for the first time, Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Northwestern jointly held “The Promise of Biomed: Symposium on Joint Biomed Projects,” at TAU in Israel. “The symposium aimed to bring together scholars and scientists from each institution who are already engaged in joint, multidisciplinary, and collaborative research,” said Elie Rekhess, Associate Director for Israel Studies at the Crown Family Center for Jewish and Israel Studies at Northwestern, who co-organized the conference with Karen Avraham, Vice Dean at the Faculty of Medicine at Tel Aviv University.