March 2024 marked the kick-off of the Alrov Center for Digital Medicine, a groundbreaking collaboration between Tel Aviv University (TAU) and Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), made possible by a generous donation from Mr. Alfred Akirov. The Center aims to leverage the collective expertise, resources, and experience of both institutions.

The inaugural meeting, held at I-Medata, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov), brought together over 50 clinical and computational researchers from both institutions for a day of stimulating discussions and networking.

The event commenced with an opening address by Prof. Elhanan Borenstein, the center's head, followed by greetings from Prof. Ariel Porat, president of TAU, Prof. Roni Gamzu, CEO of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, and Mr. Alfred Akirov, Founder of the Alrov Group.

Prof. Borenstein and Liat Nadai Arad, Chief Transformation Officer and Head of I-Medata AI Center, introduced the center's goals and announced the first call for grants. These grants, with a budget of up to 500K NIS per grant, will fund joint research proposals by Tel Aviv University principal investigators (PIs) and clinicians at TASMC.

Also attended the opening ceremony - Prof. Eli Sprecher (deputy director R&D, SMC), Prof. Keren Avraham Dean (Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences) and Dr. Michal Shevach (I-Medata).

After the opening ceremony, Participants engaged in round table discussions on a wide range of topics, including cancer, immunology, inflammatory diseases, microbiome, personalized medicine, genomics, drug development, bioinformatics, medical imaging, surgery, neurology, electronic medical records (EMRs), medical devices, telehealth, simulations, information management systems, digital technology regulations, policy, and machine learning in medicine and healthcare.

The program included two rounds of discussions with a coffee break for informal interactions in between.
Prof. Elhanan Borenstein concluded the meeting, emphasizing its success in fostering new collaborations and discussions on joint grant opportunities.

Overall, the kickoff meeting served as a platform to initiate dialogue and collaboration between researchers and clinicians from both institutions, paving the way for future advancements in digital medicine.