Israel looking to bring top scientists home during coronavirus pandemic

ScienceAbroad is trying to help by informing scientists about the NIS 280,000 two-year Shamir scholarship to help scientists return and set up a lab here. The scholarship is by the Science Ministry.

By HAGAY HACOHEN
A laboratory technician looks through a microscope during a demonstration showing the 3D printing of what Israeli scientists from Tel Aviv University say is the world’s first 3D-printed, vascularised engineered heart, at a laboratory in the university, Tel Aviv, Israel April 15, 2019 (photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
A laboratory technician looks through a microscope during a demonstration showing the 3D printing of what Israeli scientists from Tel Aviv University say is the world’s first 3D-printed, vascularised engineered heart, at a laboratory in the university, Tel Aviv, Israel April 15, 2019
(photo credit: REUTERS/AMIR COHEN)
Israel is working hard to bring several of its top scientists back home from abroad amid the spread of the novel coronavirus, according to Science and Technology Minister Izhar Shay.
He spoke Wednesday at an online conference run by ScienceAbroad, an Israel-based NGO that harnesses the power of senior Israeli scientists living abroad, according to its website.
“The strength of the country is founded on advanced technology,” Shay said.
US President Donald Trump temporarily suspended new work visas and barred hundreds of thousands of foreigners from seeking employment in the United States in June as part of an effort to ensure employment for Americans during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We need to bring back home some of our brightest stars,” ScienceAbroad  CEO Nadav Douani told The Jerusalem Post. This can be done if the country maintains its academic excellence and funds research positions. “Our scientists want to return home. The question is how.”
One example of how ScienceAbroad is trying to help is by informing scientists about the NIS 280,000 two-year Shamir scholarship to help scientists return and set up a lab here. The scholarship is from the Science and Technology Ministry.
Another thing it does is introduce large firms that seek scientific talent to Israelis who are hoping to return home.
Employers are eligible for a two-year grant through the Immigration and Absorption Ministry if they bring back an Israeli scientist from abroad to work for them.
“We are working very closely and with great collaboration with the Immigration and Absorption Ministry,” Douani said.
“To get a job in Israel, we are expected to do a postdoc overseas,” Dr. Zeev Melamed told the Post. “How to find a path back home?” As far as the state is concerned, he said, “that’s my own responsibility.”

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Melamed will return to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem from San Diego next year to open his own lab to research amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
Part of the ScienceAbroad San Diego group, Melamed studied ALS under Dr. Don Cleveland, one of the top scientists in the field. One of his reasons for returning is his commitment to Israel, he said.
Deeply invested in promoting advanced research of the illness in Israel, IsrA.L.S. – the only organization in Israel dedicated to raising awareness and support for ALS – supported Melamed and maintained a relationship with him even when he was overseas.
“This built my personal commitment to the ALS community in Israel,” he said. “I want to do blue-and-white research. I deeply want to build a lab that will be a world leader in my field and in my country.”
ScienceAbroad has 32 centers around the world, including in North America, Germany and Australia.
“Our goal is to keep the Israeli [scientific] community together,” Douani said. This serves two goals: The scientists have someone to turn to during their long years of work away from home, and each person who is able to return home inspires others to follow, he said.
The term “brain drain” is not the right terminology, Douani said.
“It’s not that they [the brains] run away; they stay [overseas] because they have no other choice,” he said. But “we have amazing stars. We want to bring them back.”


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