Technion and Rambam announce new joint research center

The Wolfe Center will serve as a site for medical research and engineering expertise to come together and develop new medical technology.

Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering at Technion University. (photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)
Faculty of Materials Science and Engineering at Technion University.
(photo credit: Wikimedia Commons)

Technion-Israel Institute of Technology announced earlier this month in conjunction with Rambam Health Care Campus and philanthropists Andi and Larry Wolfe that they intent to establish the Wolfe Center for Translational Medicine and Engineering. 

"The new center will allow us to convince doctors who are engaged in the difficult, demanding clinical field to continue to work in a large medical center, by providing opportunities for advanced research."

Prof. Mikl Halberthal, General Director of Rambam Health Care Campus

The Wolfe Center will serve as a site for medical research and engineering expertise to come together and develop new medical technology. It is intended to encourage collaboration between physicians, scientists and engineers.  

"Today, the Technion is creating a revolution aimed at connecting all those disciplines to deal with major challenges in human health, and the Wolfe Center will express the combination of the capabilities of one of Israel's leading hospitals with a world-renowned scientific-technological university," explained Technion Presidential Professor Uri Sivan. 

Prof. Mikl Halberthal, General Director of Rambam Health Care Campus, echoed Sivan's sentiments, saying, "The new center will allow us to convince doctors who are engaged in the difficult, demanding clinical field to continue to work in a large medical center, by providing opportunities for advanced research."

  (L-R): Larry Wolfe, Professor MikI Halberthal, Andi Wolfe, Professor Rafi Beyar, Professor Uri Sivan and Dr. Esty Golan. (credit: NITZAN ZOHAR/TECHNION SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)
(L-R): Larry Wolfe, Professor MikI Halberthal, Andi Wolfe, Professor Rafi Beyar, Professor Uri Sivan and Dr. Esty Golan. (credit: NITZAN ZOHAR/TECHNION SPOKESPERSON'S OFFICE)

The names behind the initiative: Andi and Larry Wolfe 

Over the last decade, the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation (named for Andi’s parents and of which Larry is the President) have supported many vital initiatives at Rambam and the Technion, including the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation Pediatric Pulmonary Institute, the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation Center for Interventional Cardiology, and the D. Dan and Betty Kahn Foundation Mechanical School of Engineering. Larry Wolfe has been a member of the American Friends of Rambam Board of Directors for many years. Andi is a member of the Technion Board of Governors and on the National Board of Directors of the American Technion Society (ATS). Both Andi and Larry have also been involved in many other projects in Israel and in the State of Michigan.

“We are very proud and excited to be part of this transformational and collaborative research and innovation initiative between Rambam Health Care and the Technion,” Andi and Larry Wolfe said. “Our gift allows us to continue the legacy, vision and philanthropy of D. Dan and Betty Kahn in Israel.”