TAU To Set Up Multidisciplinary Epidemic Research Center

Tel Aviv University is set to establish a multidisciplinary research center focused on epidemics and pandemics that will bring together top experts from the university’s diverse fields of knowledge including medicine, biology, mathematics, physics, economics, engineering, education, and psychology.

The researchers will work with counterparts at leading hospitals and academic institutions in Israel and around the world “to advance research in the field with the ultimate aim of assisting the State of Israel in coping with future epidemics,” TAU said in a statement.

The new center, called the Center for Combating Pandemics, will submit policy recommendations and papers, help draft material for public consumption, and provide scholarship and research grants to outstanding students and scholars.

TAU President Prof. Ariel Porat said: “For the first time, the innovative research center will allow researchers to join forces, pool their resources and examine the implications of the pandemic from different perspectives. The collaborative efforts will enable researchers to produce a bird’s eye view that will offer insight into the best ways to deal with future crises of this kind.”

The initiative is backed by Australian businessman and philanthropist Frank Lowy, with an initial investment of tens of millions of shekels, according to the university.