Honoring the accomplishments of Drexel, CHOP and HebrewU’s collaborative groundbreaking research on pediatric care with the 2015 Yitzhak Rabin Public Service Award (L-R): John Fry, president of Drexel University; Vered Nohi-Becker, executive director, PICC; Richard A. Bendit, Esq., president, PICC and senior vice president, assistant general counsel, Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC; Joseph St. Geme III, MD, physician-in-chief at CHOP; Robert Levy, MD, Dream Team investigator at CHOP; Amy Throckmorton, PhD, principal investigator of the “Giving Kids a Chance”, Drexel University; and Richard M. Fox, vice president, PICC, and managing partner, Start-up Nation (S.U.N.) Capital.
Collaborative Agreement due in part to Mayor Nutter’s 2013
Trade Mission to Israel
PHILADELPHIA (March 23, 2015)— The Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (PICC) honored the joint research collaboration among Drexel University (Drexel), The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with the 2015 Yitzhak Rabin Public Service Award on March 19. Drexel University President John Fry and Joseph W. St. Geme III, MD, Physician-in-Chief and Chairman of the Department of Pediatrics, at CHOP accepted the highest distinction awarded by the PICC on behalf of their institutes. The Rabin Award salutes regional businesses, academic institutions and their leaders who exemplify the organization’s goals of broadening business and academic ties between the United States and Israel. The 2014 award went to US Airways and the local economic impact created by their daily, direct flights from Philadelphia to Tel-Aviv.
The research agreement among the three institutions was signed in a ceremony at Jerusalem City Hall in the presence of Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter on November 11, 2013. The agreement served as a new standard for potential partnerships between US cities and foreign nations to further academic and research projects.
The research partnership is designed to focus on pediatric translational research and to develop a collaborative platform for advancing pediatric medicine from the lab to the bedside. One of the first outcomes of the research collaboration was a conference held at CHOP in January 2014. The conference provided an opportunity for investigators from the three institutions to find collaborators with whom to develop joint projects and proposals in pediatric translational research and for interested funders to learn more about the potential for discovery that this collaborative consortium holds. Two dedicated “dream teams” of investigators were selected, with each receiving $250,000 over two years in institutional funding, as administrators seek external investors interested in advancing exciting pediatric translational research with commercial viability.
One dream team is based at Drexel with Amy Throckmorton, PhD, as the principal investigator of the “Giving Kids a Chance” project that investigates a new intravascular blood pump for pediatric patients with congenital heart disease (CHD). A second dream team is located at CHOP with Robert J. Levy, MD, as the principal investigator of a research project “Pediatric Transcatheter Valve Replacements: Preventing Device Failure due to Structural Degeneration.”
“Drexel, CHOP and the Hebrew University’s collaborative research on pediatric care is very important to strengthening and broadening the entire region’s academic, commercial, and friendship ties with Israel,” said Richard Bendit, Esq., President of the PICC. “Moreover, such joint research elevates the Greater Philadelphia’s rank as a premier center for medical research while opening myriad of new opportunities for future collaborations and further economic impact.”
“Partnerships like these ultimately become solutions that save lives and end suffering,” said Drexel President John A. Fry. “Those of us involved in this project at Drexel are humbled and gratified to be recognized with the Yitzhak Rabin Service Award and hope we can serve as a model for more partnerships connecting this region to Israel.”
“The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is honored to accept the Yitzhak Rabin Service Award to recognize our Dream Team collaboration with Drexel University and Hebrew University of Jerusalem,” said Joseph St. Geme III, Physician-in-chief and Chair of Pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “The research underway holds such promise to advance the health of children internationally.”
This partnership reflects a growing trend of business development spurred by public outreach and diplomacy. The relationship between Israel and Philadelphia, which has long enjoyed a multitude of cultural exchanges, has seen a large growth in business-to-business partnerships since Nutter’s trade mission. In October 2014 the Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce together with the City of Philadelphia, Drexel, Comcast Corporation, CHOP, Jefferson University Hospitals, the Israeli Consulate in Philadelphia, and major regional stakeholders hosted an Israeli delegation with a conference focused on healthcare and IT. As a result, the region attracted four Israeli companies which have been expressing interest in opening their US offices in the Greater Philadelphia region.
About the Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce
The Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce (PICC) is the go-to independent organization facilitating connections between Israeli and Philadelphia, Southern New Jersey and Delaware based businesses, governmental agencies and economic development organizations. The PICC also represents the US-Israel Binational R&D (BIRD) Foundation and BIRD Energy in Pennsylvania and Delaware. For more information, visit www.phillyisraelchamber.com.
Drexel University
Founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Drexel is the nation’s 14th largest private university and is ranked among the best national universities by U.S. News & World Report.” Drexel is widely recognized for its focus on experiential learning through its co-operative education program and translational research initiatives. For more information, visit www.drexel.edu.
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
About The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first pediatric hospital. Through its long-standing commitment to providing exceptional patient care, training new generations of pediatric healthcare professionals and pioneering major research initiatives, Children’s Hospital has fostered many discoveries that have benefited children worldwide. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country. In addition, its unique family-centered care and public service programs have brought the 535-bed hospital recognition as a leading advocate for children and adolescents. For more information, visit www.chop.edu.
For additional information:
Philadelphia-Israel Chamber of Commerce
Vered Nohi-Becker: 302-540-6374 picc@phillyisraelchamber.com
Drexel University
Niki Gianakaris: 215-895-6741 ng38@drexel.edu
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Rachel Salis-Silverman: 267-426-6063 salis@email.chop.edu