UT Southwestern Medical Centre and Rabin Medical Centre, Israel, two of the world’s top academic medical centres, announced 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 programmes, as well as the development of joint studies, research and training activities, and other educational programmes of mutual interest.

“This agreement between UT Southwestern at Dallas and Rabin Medical Centre 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 Centre.

“Rabin Medical Centre 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 Centre, which is located just east of Tel Aviv.

Dr Podolsky announced the affiliation agreement on the UT South western 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 Centre at UT South western.

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

Also present was Wendeline Jongenburger, director of UT South western’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 South western 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 Centre will fund a fellowship to be awarded to a student selected by UT South western to attend RMC.

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

Founded in 1943, UT Southwestern Medical Centre has had four Nobel Prizes awarded to its faculty since 1985. In the 2010-2011 edition of US News & World Report’s Americas Best Hospitals, UT South western is nationally ranked in six specialty-care areas: urology, diabetes/endocrinology, gynaecology, kidney disorders, neurology and neurosurgery, and ear, nose and throat. The medical centre 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 Centre, 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.

Rabin Medical Centre is at the forefront of Israel’s health care system, and is a major referral centre for patients from Israel and beyond. Affiliated with the Tel Aviv University-Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Rabin Medical Centre 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.

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Centre at Dallas ranks among the top academic medical centres in the world. With four Nobel Prizes awarded to its faculty since 1985, UT South western is recognized internationally for its dedication to teaching and biomedical research advances.