Weizmann Institute announces $100m grant for new medical science program

The Weizmann Institute of Science is the beneficiary of a NIS 400 million ($107 million) grant from the Gutwirth Fund to establish a new medical science school “to train the next generation of physician-scientists,” the institute announces.

The program, a joint initiative with the Sheba Medical Center, plans to accept some 40 students each year who will earn a dual MD-PhD at the end of their studies and clinical training. The initiative is expected to open registration for prospective students by the end of this year and begin formally in October 2025, the start of the next academic year.

“Training new physician-scientists as part of this program will provide a significant boost to Israel’s public health sector… The program will strive to redefine the framework of medical education and to advance biomedical research and its application in Israel. In practice, it will shape the role of physician-scientists in a new era of research-based medicine and will allow its graduates to move smoothly between clinical practice and biomedical research,” the announcement says.

The donation from the Gutwirth Fund is one of the largest in Israel’s history, the press release notes.