The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center and the Chaim Sheba Medical Center in Israel have agreed to partner on oncology training, treatment and research.
The two organizations have signed a “sister institution relationship” agreement that includes cooperation in physician education and training, clinical services, research collaborations, quality assurance programs, faculty exchange visits, scientific endeavors and other technical support staff training.
Researchers and clinicians from both institutions will have access to the clinical cohorts and tissue banks available at M.D. Anderson and Sheba. In addition, patients at both institutions can participate in clinical trials conducted on novel therapeutics, medical devices and diagnostic tools developed by Sheba or M.D. Anderson.
Sheba CEO and Professor Zeev Rotstein said this is the first agreement of its type for an Israeli hospital.
“It is a pioneering breakthrough that will significantly add to the international-class-level medicine we conduct at Sheba,” he said.
The first Sheba Medical Center doctor to benefit from a fellowship under the new agreement will be Dr. Aviad Hoffman, a Sheba surgical oncologist who will spend three years at M. D. Anderson, beginning this summer. He will conduct two years of research and serve one year of clinical-surgical training and practice.
The collaboration at Sheba involves a cooperative learning relationship with MSR: The Israel Center for Medical Simulation. MSR is the world’s first “virtual hospital,” where health professionals learn from their mistakes while training against role-playing actors and computerized mannequins.