President of Israel Appoints Prof. Oded Abramsky Chair of Israel's
National Council for Research and Development
President Shimon Peres has named Prof. Oded Abramsky, M.D., Ph.D., former head of the Department of Neurology at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, to head the Israel National Council For Research and Development. Prof. Abramsky continues to serve as a senior physician and researcher in the Department of Neurology.
Minister of Science, Culture and Sport, Member of Knesset Ghaleb Majadlah, recommended his appointment, which the government confirmed and Prof. Menachem Ya'ari, President of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, reaffirmed.
Prof. Abramsky, 67, headed Hadassah's Department of Neurology for 17 years and chaired Hadassah's Agnes Ginges Center for Human Neurogenetics. Among his many positions, he also served as Dean of the Hebrew University-Hadassah School of Medicine, Chief Scientist of the Ministry of Health and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the U.S.-Israel Binational Science Foundation. A retired colonel in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Prof. Abramsky served as Assistant Head of Research and Development for the IDF and the Ministry of Defense. A prolific researcher and writer, he has published four books and over 300 scientific articles, served an Editorial Board member for 12 international scientific journals and on the board of five scientific international societies. Prof. Abramsky is a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom and a member of the Institute of Medicine of the American National Academy of Sciences.
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The Israel National Council For Research And Development was established in 2004 by legislation of the Israeli Knesset, and its members are appointed by the President of Israel. The council's mission is:
· To advise the government of Israel with regard to the organization and regulation of civil research and development, and with regard to the allocation of budgets for its enhancement.
· To recommend to the government on guidelines for a comprehensive national policy, annual as well as perennial, in the field of civil research and development.
· To recommend to the government with regard to areas of national priority in the field of civil research and development.
· To recommend to the government on the establishment of infrastructure for research and development, and the implementation of scientific and technological projects.
· To recommend to the government and other relevant authorities in the area of governmental research and development, including the establishment of government research institutions, and also to suggest the professional criteria for the appointment of chief scientists in government departments, and the appointment of heads of governmental research institutes.