Israeli health officials visit NIH, talk collaboration

On Jan. 4, 2016, Israeli Minister of Health MK Rabbi Yacov Litzman, Israel's Ambassador to the United States Ron Dermer, and Director General of the Ministry of Health Moshe Bar Siman Tov visited the Clinical Center.

During their visit, Litzman, Dermer and Bar Simon Tov met with NIH senior leadership, including Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of NIH, and leaders from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in the Clinical Center Medical Board Room. They also took a walking tour with Undiagnosed Diseases Network Director Dr. William Gahl and National Human Genome Research Institute Director Dr. Eric Green. During the tour, Gahl and the Israeli visitors met an 8-year-old patient and his father and where able to hear about their experience and treatment.

"We discussed the expansion of the Undiagnosed Diseases Network to a network of centers across the country and to an international organization," said Gahl. "One topic of conversation was our collaboration with Israeli investigators, which is very possible through the sharing of databases."

The visitors also met with Israeli postdocs and physicians conducting research at NIH and talked about NIH researcher/clinician fellowships that allows international physicians to conduct research in the U.S. and see patients related to their research at the same time.

"This program contributes to advancing and improving medical practice," said Sigal Shachar, an NCI researcher. "We explained to them how we should try and implement a similar program in Israel and also the possibilities of building a similar institute like NIH in Israel one day."