UT Southwestern Medical Center and Rabin Medical Center, Israel Announce Groundbreaking Joint Agreement

Five-year affiliation calls for two leading medical centers to collaborate on research, best practices, student and faculty exchange programs

DALLAS, Dec. 15, 2010 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- UT Southwestern Medical Center and Rabin Medical Center, Israel, two of the world's top academic medical centers, announced today that they have entered into an innovative affiliation agreement for the next five years.

The internationally recognized institutions will collaborate on faculty and student exchange programs, as well as the development of joint studies, research and training activities, and other educational programs of mutual interest.

"This agreement between UT Southwestern at Dallas and Rabin Medical Center in Israel represents an exciting new era of cooperation, research and teaching for both of our institutions and our two countries," said Dr. Daniel K. Podolsky, president of UT Southwestern Medical Center.

"Rabin Medical Center and UT Southwestern believe that international understanding and educational opportunities for students, post-graduate trainees and faculty will be greatly enhanced by international academic and scientific cooperation," said Dr. Eyran Halpern, CEO of Rabin Medical Center, which is located just east of Tel Aviv.

Dr. Podolsky announced the affiliation agreement on the UT Southwestern campus, where he was joined by Dr. Greg Fitz, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, and dean of UT Southwestern Medical School, and Dr. Joseph Hill, chief of cardiology and director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center at UT Southwestern.

Dr. Halpern was accompanied by Dr. David Hasdai, director of the Cardiac Care Unit at Rabin Medical Center and professor of cardiology at Tel Aviv University's Sackler School of Medicine and Mrs. Judit Solel, head of the Office for Development.

Also present was Wendeline Jongenburger, director of UT Southwestern's Office of Global Health. The newly established office reflects one of the university's strategic priorities and is headed by Dr. Fiemu Nwariaku, associate dean for global health and associate professor of surgery. UT Southwestern recently entered into an affiliation agreement with Sun Yat-sen University and First Affiliated Hospital in Guangzhou, China, to foster scientific training between the institutions.

In celebration of this strategic collaboration, Rabin Medical Center will fund a fellowship to be awarded to a student selected by UT Southwestern to attend RMC.

Established in 1996 in memory of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by combining two existing hospitals, Rabin Medical Center has Israel's only dedicated transplant facilities capable of performing kidney, lung, heart and liver transplants. Rabin Medical Center's Cardiothoracic Surgery Department and its Oncology Institute are the largest in the country, and its heliport and Level 1 Trauma Center provide vital emergency services throughout the region.

Founded in 1943, UT Southwestern Medical Center has had four Nobel Prizes awarded to its faculty since 1985. In the 2010-2011 edition of U.S. News & World Report's Americas Best Hospitals, UT Southwestern is nationally ranked in six specialty-care areas: urology, diabetes/endocrinology, gynecology, kidney disorders, neurology and neurosurgery, and ear, nose and throat. The medical center is also among the nation's best performers in biology and biochemistry research in achieving clinical breakthroughs.

The joint agreement calls for UT Southwestern and Rabin to collaborate on:

• Joint research conferences and symposia;
• Reciprocal exchange of students, post-graduate trainees or faculty in the areas of medicine, nursing, collaborative research projects, exchange of publications, reports or other academic information;
• Exchange of cooperation regarding the organization, delivery and management of health care services; and
• Professional development.

This is the first agreement between UT Southwestern and Rabin Medical Center, and it is extensive in that it covers aspects ranging from joint development of intellectual property, joint publication of research and special assistance for participating students, researchers and faculty in securing required visas, work permits and housing in both countries.

The new program takes effect Dec. 15, 2010, and continues through Dec. 15, 2015, and annually thereafter if both institutions choose not to opt out of the agreement.

This news release is available on our World Wide Web home page at

http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/home/news/index.html.

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About Rabin Medical Center

Rabin Medical Center is at the forefront of Israel's health care system, and is a major referral center for patients from Israel and beyond. Affiliated with the Tel Aviv University-Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Rabin Medical Center is a prestigious teaching hospital six miles east of Tel Aviv, ranking among the top choices of Israeli medical school graduates for internship, residency and fellowship placements. Founded in 1996 in memory of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, Rabin Medical Center was formed by merging two existing hospitals, Beilinson (1936) and HaSharon (1942). With a staff of 4,500 employees and medical professionals, the center sees 1 million patients annually and performs 35,000 surgical procedures and 8,500 births. For more information, visit http://www.clalit.org.il/rabin/defaulteng.asp.

About UT Southwestern Medical Center

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas ranks among the top academic medical centers in the world. With four Nobel Prizes awarded to its faculty since 1985, UT Southwestern is recognized internationally for its dedication to teaching and biomedical research advances. Three degree-granting institutions comprise the medical center, which was founded in 1943: UT Southwestern Medical School, UT Southwestern Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences and UT Southwestern School of Health Professions. With a staff of about 11,000 employees and medical professionals, the center sees about 1.9 million patients annually and trains nearly 4,400 medical, graduate and allied health students, residents and postdoctoral fellows each year. For more information, visit http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/.

Dr Fitz holds the Nadine and Tom Craddick Distinguished Chair in Medical Science and the Atticus James Gill, M.D., Chair in Medical Science.

Dr. Hill holds the James T. Willerson, M.D., Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases and the Frank M. Ryburn Jr. Chair in Heart Research.

Dr. Nwariaku holds the Malcolm O. Perry, M.D., Professorship in Surgery.

Dr. Podolsky holds the Philip O'Bryan Montgomery Jr., M.D., Distinguished Presidential Chair in Academic Administration and the Doris and Bryan Wildenthal Distinguished Chair in Medical Science.

SOURCE UT Southwestern Medical Center