From New York: Without international partners, science will fall short
Under the shadow of geopolitical tension and global uncertainty around the future of Israel, doubling down on international academic collaboration can serve as an antidote that allows us to envision a brighter version of this future. Calls for boycotts of Israeli institutions ignore the fundamental function of academia as an open forum of ideas and eliminates the infinite potential for innovation when cross-cultural work prevails. Reflecting on Israel’s global collaborations reminds us of what is possible when we meet face-to-face with our peers from halfway across the world and harness the full power of our compassion for each other.
The Michigan-Israel Partnership brings together two drastically different corners of the world toward a common goal and illustrates exactly why international collaboration is required to seed a better future. What began as a generous gift from business and community leader D. Dan Kahn in 2011 to fuel two joint research projects in cardiovascular disease between the University of Michigan (U-M) and the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, the Partnership eventually grew to include the Weizmann Institute of Science a few years later. Together, the three universities are fueled by their hunger to take on even greater challenges and have continued to advance Mr. Kahn’s vision for over a decade after his passing.
The intended impact behind the collaborative work of these three universities, however, does not target the endless list of the world’s challenges at random. With careful consideration of the strengths of each institution and the generosity of the D. Dan and Betty Khan Foundation, the Partnership launched two megaprojects in 2018: precision medicine for aging populations and robotic farming innovation. While these research areas may seem unrelated on the surface, they provide an ideal foundation for the Partnership’s shared knowledge and grapple with the inevitable question of how to care for a world that is more populated and living longer than ever before.
In precision health for older adults, the Partnership combines expertise in data science, immunology, and infectious diseases to combat common recurring infections and explore the trajectories of the immune system that are urgent concerns for aging populations. Among several goals to improve patient care and ease the experience of aging, the research team hopes to create a large, longitudinal data set of older adults that can be shared across institutions to extend its impact and help inform discoveries for years to come.
The impact of our longer life spans and breakneck global population growth trickles down to core sectors of the global economy—another challenge that science can solve. Agriculture will continue to see demand that is unattainable to meet using current technology and workforce capacity. With leading voices in robotics, machine learning, computer vision, and human-machine interfaces, the Partnership has what it takes to revolutionize farming around the world before it is too late. Its work aims to create a future where farmers are safe, efficient, and able to care for their crops, equipped with the technology and information required to keep our communities fed amid the ongoing climate crisis.
While the megaprojects continue to grow, the Partnership’s legacy is rooted in supporting projects that will have an outsized impact on cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and neurological conditions. Through over a decade of juried collaborative grants, the Partnership has produced 73 U-M/Israel projects with a total investment of nearly $5 million, many of which earn additional funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation.
While philanthropic support is vital to ensuring the longevity of the Partnership’s research, unlocking vital discoveries would not be possible without the curiosity and open minds of its researchers. The grant applications that the Partnership receives each year are inspired by the face-to-face connections made at its symposiums, and through conversations that deepen as projects evolve and research teams grow. Innovation and success require collaboration, which necessitates an eagerness to connect with others, not despite their differences, but because of them.
If not for this specific binational collaboration between three premier academic institutions, we may have never understood the role that the heart plays in Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a devastating genetic disease. Paralyzed individuals would have fewer pathways to rehabilitation and accessibility tools. Our understanding of cells – the foundation of life itself – would be incomplete. Imagine what would be possible if we invested in more international partnerships instead of stripping them away.
Voices from every corner of the world are essential for a vibrant and powerful scientific community. Without them, creativity stalls and impact wavers. Israelis, in particular, bring a cultural disposition of resilient motivation. The “Start-Up Nation” identity has blossomed out of a drive to bring scientific and technological advancements to everyday people. Working with Israeli academia means finding answers to seemingly insurmountable questions and making sure that results are harnessed for the benefit of communities around the world.
While multicultural collaboration undoubtedly accelerates the rate of innovation, it creates an effect that cannot be quantified. The empathy, excitement, motivation, and joy that grow through working with new people and perspectives cannot be measured, and yet, we know it has unmatched advantages for the world around us. The Technion is committed to continue nurturing its international collaborations and looks forward to uncovering what is possible when we build bridges with new voices for years to come.
