The Chaim Sheba Medical Center and The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center today (February 1, 2010) signed a pioneering "Sister Institution Relationship" agreement for broad-scale cooperation in oncology training, treatment and research.

The agreement includes cooperation in physician education and training, clinical services, research collaborations, quality assurance programs, faculty exchange visits, scientific endeavors, nursing and other technical support staff training, and more.

Key to the agreement is collaboration in translational research via exchange of technologies and knowledge between the institutions and establishment of joint translational research efforts to improve care for cancer patients. Researchers and clinicians will have access to the large 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.

"M. D. Anderson is one of the most important cancer treatment and research centers in the world. Its association with Sheba will bring enormous benefit to our patients. Our collaborative efforts will significantly advance, I hope, the global effort to combat cancer," said Sheba CEO Prof. Rotstein. "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."

“M. D. Anderson’s mission is a global one – and it cannot be fulfilled without deep collaboration at all levels with world-class institutions such as Chaim Sheba,” said John Mendelsohn, M.D., president of M. D. Anderson. “Together, by combining our resources and extending the benefits of our research to more patients, we increase our opportunity to reduce the burden of cancer for many more individuals.”

Signing the agreement for M. D. Anderson are John Mendelsohn, M.D., president and Raymond DuBois, M.D., Ph.D., provost and executive vice president. DuBois visited Israel for the signing, along with Raphael E. Pollock M.D., Ph.D., professor and head of the division of surgery. Pollock will lead the M. D. Anderson side of the program. At the Sheba Medical Center, oncologist Dr. Amir Onn will lead the program.

“Sheba Medical Center, with its Sheba Cancer Center, Hematology Center, and Cancer Research Institute, is one of the world’s finest research and clinical care facilities, with experience in multidisciplinary cancer care, clinical research, drug development, translational research, basic science and medical education,” said Raymond DuBois, M.D, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president at M. D. Anderson. “This is a unique opportunity for the faculty and staff of M. D. Anderson to establish a relationship that will advance our mutual goals of creating outstanding scientific programs focused on the discovery and development of cancer therapies, as well as the education of cancer researchers and clinicians.”

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.

M. D. Anderson's first collaboration at Sheba involves a cooperative learning relationship with MSR: The Israel Center for Medical Simulation. MSR is the world's first all-embracing "virtual hospital," where health professionals learn from their mistakes in a safe environment while training against role-playing actors and real-life computerized mannequins. MSR will be sharing its expertise in simulation training with M. D. Anderson in a wide variety of clinical domains related to oncology.