The Weizmann Institute of Science, in a joint initiative with the Miriam and Aaron Gutwirth Fund, is establishing a medical school and counting on Weizmann supporters to join efforts to champion a unique program that seeks to create the next generation of physician-scientists.
Students accepted into the new program will still take part in Weizmann’s scientific research activity, but will also undergo clinical training at medical centers across Israel. These will include government-run hospitals like Sheba Medical Center, which was the first to join the program and helped design and build the curriculum.
The initiative grew out of recognizing the need to forge a direct connection between research science and the world of medicine. Training physician-scientists redefines the framework of medical education, advancing biomedical research and its application.
In pursuing medical studies, students will train in various areas of medicine and research in natural and exact sciences, with an emphasis on data science and artificial intelligence. Graduates of the program will emerge with the tools they need to help meet global health challenges.
Adding clinical training to Weizmann’s unique research experience creates the optimal environment for preparing future leaders of the biomedical community. Having developed a deeper understanding of clinical needs and a greater familiarity with applying scientific discoveries and contemporary knowledge, physician-scientists who earn their credentials at Weizmann may choose between two possible career paths, or combine them: working in hands-on medicine or focusing on research to advance groundbreaking discoveries to help patients around the world.
In parallel, the new initiative will bring a new kind of budding scientific mind to Weizmann while providing a significant boost to Israel’s public health sector. Israeli hospitals will benefit from a steady flow of highly qualified personnel with comprehensive training, ensuring that patients have access to the most advanced and innovative treatments.
Weizmann President Prof. Alon Chen said, “Since the Institute’s establishment, its research has been conducted with a sense of national mission and for the future of humanity… Training Israeli physician-scientists fully embodies the Institute’s purpose. The program will help physicians of the future apply the most contemporary and innovative scientific knowledge in the field of biomedicine… [enabling them] to impact the lives of countless people both here and abroad.”
The establishment of the new medical school and medical studies program has been made possible by the Gutwirth Fund, the philanthropic branch of the AG Trust. Since its establishment in 1972, the Gutwirth Fund has awarded more than 15,000 scholarships to students and provides continuous support to numerous hospitals, academic institutions, welfare initiatives, and cultural activities.
The trustees examined several proposals and decided that establishing a medical school, in cooperation with the Weizmann Institute, would be of most benefit to future generations.
On behalf of the Gutwirth Trust, Prof. Itzhak Swary said the new medical school “will attract the brightest minds in Israel and improve the future of Israeli citizens.” He hopes this initiative will lead to “the emergence of a new generation of Israeli medicine.”
In its inaugural year, the medical studies program will accept up to 40 students who will earn the MD-PhD credential upon graduation. Registration is expected to open at the end of 2024, and studies will commence in October 2025.
