Sheba Medical Center Signs Agreement With Australian Cancer Center

Israel’s Sheba Medical Center at Tel HaShomer and Australia’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Center announced on Monday that the two have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) agreement that will “foster new international research collaborations and opportunities for staff development.”

The MOU provides a framework for Peter MacCallum and Sheba Medical Center to jointly develop commercialization opportunities, an innovation hub in Melbourne modeled after Sheba’s ARC Innovation Center, research collaborations to grant the exchange of scientific materials for clinical trials, a six to 18-month clinical fellowship program, and a faculty researcher exchange.

Peter MacCallum Cancer Center is a cancer research, education, and treatment center and Australia’s only public health service solely dedicated to caring for people affected by cancer. Sheba Medical Center is the largest hospital and cancer center in Israel and the Middle East.

The MOU was formally signed by representatives of Peter Mac, Sheba Medical Center, and the Australian Friends of Sheba Medical Center.

Peter Mac Chief Executive Prof. Shelley Dolan welcomed the MOU as an “important step” in building Peter Mac’s network of international partnerships and strategic agreements, according to the announcement.

“Engaging with leading hospitals and scientific institutes globally delivers new development opportunities for Peter Mac’s staff, grows our program of cutting-edge research, and supports our mission to provide world’s best cancer care to Australians,” said Prof Shelley Dolan, Peter Chief Executive of Peter Mac Cancer Center. “We are delighted to be working with an organization of the stature of Sheba Medical Center and look forward to the new collaborations and opportunities this MOU makes possible.”

“We believe that the future of medicine is dependent on collaboration, so we are thrilled to work with Peter Mac in trying to find innovative ways to combat cancer,” said Prof. Arnon Afek, deputy director general of Sheba Medical Center. “We believe that this is a win-win for both medical facilities that will most certainly benefit people, not just in Israel and Australia, but also around the world.” 

“This significant cooperation agreement with the acclaimed Peter MacCallum Cancer Center is aligned with Australian Friends of Sheba’s vision of promoting global health through collaboration with prime institutions in Australia,” said Avri Alfasi, chairman of the board of Australian Friends of Sheba Medical Center.