October 2026: New Edmond J. Safra-Clalit Grant Program and Kickoff Symposium

A symposium marking the launch of a new joint call for grant proposals issued by the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics and Clalit Health Services was held on October 15, 2026, at Tel Aviv University.

Two years ago, Tel Aviv University (TAU), Clalit Health Services (Clalit), and the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics established MOONSHOT-MED, a joint program promoting multidisciplinary research in computational healthcare. The program was designed to bring together TAU's expertise in bioinformatics, big data, and AI with Clalit's clinical expertise and extensive healthcare data resources. Following a rigorous review process, four grants were awarded to projects jointly led by TAU principal investigators and Clalit clinicians. View the 2024 awarded projects.

To further strengthen this partnership, the two institutions announced a new joint call for grant proposals aimed at supporting innovative collaborative research in computational healthcare, clinical bioinformatics, electronic medical record (EMR) analysis, and AI-driven medicine. The program will fund projects jointly led by Edmond J. Safra Center researchers and Clalit clinician-researchers.

To mark this new initiative and formally launch the new joint call for grant proposals, a symposium entitled "Advancing Computational Healthcare Innovation" took place at TAU. The event brought together Edmond J. Safra researchers and Clalit clinician-researchers for presentations and discussions. The symposium was designed to foster dialogue, highlight ongoing collaborations, and encourage new partnerships in data-driven healthcare innovation. Upon arrival, participants received a booklet and pen featuring the symposium's design and the participating institutions.

Prof. Elhanan Borenstein, Head of the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics, opened the event and invited Prof. Ariel Porat, President of TAU, to deliver welcoming remarks. Prof. Porat spoke about the tremendous potential of this new grant program. He was followed by Prof. Ran Balicer, Deputy Director-General and Chief Innovation Officer of Clalit, who delivered welcoming remarks and provided an overview of AI research within Clalit. Ms. Reut Ohana, EVP and General Manager of Clalit Innovation, then addressed the audience.

The program featured eight flash talks across two sessions. In the first session, several researchers presented findings from projects funded through the previous MOONSHOT-MED grant cycle. In the second session, four Clalit clinicians and one Edmond J. Safra researcher presented their work, highlighting key challenges and opportunities in their respective fields and identifying areas where future collaborations could be particularly valuable. Each presentation was followed by a brief Q&A session.

The first session was moderated by Dr. Anastasiya Nekhamkin of Clalit Innovation, while the second session was moderated by Prof. Elhanan Borenstein.

In the final part of the event, Prof. Elhanan Borenstein introduced the Joint Edmond J. Safra–Clalit Call for Research Proposals. The new grant cycle aims to support collaborative efforts that bring together computational researchers from the Edmond J. Safra Center for Bioinformatics and clinicians affiliated with Clalit Health Services. Successful projects are expected to have a transformative scientific impact, significantly advance our understanding of disease and treatment, and ultimately contribute to advances in medicine.

Prof. Borenstein then invited participants to continue the discussions during a reception with refreshments and networking opportunities in the lobby.

Participants from both institutions expressed great enthusiasm for the new grant program, praised the fascinating and diverse flash talks, and looked forward to launching new collaborative research projects.

For the symposium program, click here.

For the Call for Proposals, click here. The deadline for proposal submission is December 16, 2026.

For photos from the event, click here.