Medical team visits Israel
TWO landmark medical projects have figured prominently in a research visit to Israel by a team of 16 Australian medical professionals.
TWO landmark medical projects have figured prominently in a research visit to Israel by a team of 16 Australian medical professionals.
The visitors – from the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, the Centre for Eye Research Australia and the Heart Centre at The Alfred – travelled to Israel to meet with counterparts in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv and other cities.
A Baker IDI spokesperson said the purpose of the mission was to expand the scope of research collaborations between Australian and Israeli investigators.
The July 8-15 trip allowed researchers to discuss new ideas, build on current theories and form new relationships to accelerate the delivery of outcomes for patients around the world.
One of the projects involved a collaboration between Professor Jonathan Shaw, head of Population Health Research at Baker IDI, and Professor Benjamin Glaser of the Hadassah‐Hebrew University Medical Centre on a clinical study which will help diabetes sufferers.
The process measures cell-free circulating DNA in a patient’s blood to identify physiological and pathological changes earlier and more precisely than conventional techniques.
Shaw told The AJN that being able to assess the insulin-producing performance of pancreatic cells from a blood test rather than from surgery is “potentially of huge value” in developing more effective drugs to combat diabetes.
Meanwhile, Professor Tom Marwick of Baker IDI has teamed with Professor Dan Adam from the Technion Institute to expand on Marwick’s interest in using echocardiography to identify early heart failure.
The delegation was on a comprehensive visiting program, with highlights including Hadassah’s Cardiovascular Research Centre, the Weizmann Institute of Science, Tel Aviv University, the Cardiovascular Research Labs at the Sheba Centre, and meeting biochemistry researchers at the Technion.
Meetings were also held between the visitors and representatives from successful social impact programs. Israel has developed highly effective models to harness the power of crowdfunding to support entrepreneurial ventures.
Members of the delegation met with representatives from these companies to explore how this model might work in Australia to support health and medical research.
PETER KOHN
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