Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research

Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research
Name	Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research
Formation	1992
Headquarters	Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer
Type	Research institute
Region served	Israel
Leader title	Director

Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research is an Israeli research institute affiliated with Sheba Medical Center and located at Tel HaShomer. The institute conducts epidemiological studies and health policy analyses informing Ministry of Health (Israel), World Health Organization, and regional bodies, and publishes work cited by Israel Defense Forces, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and international partners. It operates within networks that include Harvard University, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, European Commission, and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

History

The institute was established in 1992 amid health system reforms associated with Yitzhak Rabin-era policy changes and Israeli public health initiatives influenced by Health Insurance Law (Israel), and was sited at Sheba Medical Center near Ramat Gan. Founding activities involved collaborations with Tel Aviv University, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Clalit Health Services, and private stakeholders such as Hadassah Medical Organization and Sourasky Medical Center. Over time, the institute expanded research capacity through projects funded by European Research Council, National Institutes of Health, and philanthropic grants from organizations like Wellcome Trust and Rockefeller Foundation. Leadership transitions involved figures with ties to Ministry of Health (Israel), Israeli Medical Association, and academic appointments at Bar-Ilan University and University of Haifa.

Research Areas and Programs

The institute’s core programs cover epidemiology, health services research, health policy analysis, and biostatistics, producing outputs used by World Bank, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and United Nations agencies. Specific thematic programs include chronic disease surveillance linked to Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes mellitus, and Oncology registries that interact with clinical centers like Rabin Medical Center and Assuta Ashdod. Other programs address health technology assessment collaborating with NICE, comparative effectiveness research with Johns Hopkins University, and vaccine policy studies that reference work from GAVI, Pfizer, and Moderna. Behavioral and social determinants research has engaged partners such as Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Columbia University, and Yale School of Public Health.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

The institute is organized into departments for epidemiology, health policy, biostatistics, and data science, with governance involving a board that has included representatives from Ministry of Health (Israel), Sheba Medical Center, and academic institutions like Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. Directors and senior researchers have held adjunct posts at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Tel Aviv University, and Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and have collaborated with international scholars from Stanford University, University of Oxford, and Karolinska Institutet. Administrative oversight coordinates finance and compliance aligned with funders such as European Commission programs and grantors like National Institutes of Health and Gates Foundation.

Collaborations and Partnerships

The institute maintains partnerships with Israeli healthcare providers including Clalit Health Services, Maccabi Healthcare Services, and Meuhedet Health Services, and academic linkages to Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University, and Bar-Ilan University. International collaboration spans World Health Organization initiatives, multicenter trials with University College London, and data-sharing consortia including Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics and networks involving Vanderbilt University Medical Center and Mount Sinai Health System. Policy advisory roles have involved briefings for Knesset committees, contributions to OECD health reviews, and consultancy for Ministry of Health (Israel) pandemic response plans referencing work done by CDC and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

Facilities and Resources

Located on the Sheba Medical Center campus, facilities include secure data centers interoperable with hospital electronic health records and research computing infrastructure comparable with university cores at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University. The institute houses epidemiology labs, biostatistics units, and meeting spaces used for symposia with participants from World Health Organization, Harvard University, and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Resource access extends to national registries such as the Israel Cancer Registry and immunization databases used in studies linked to Pfizer and Moderna vaccine evaluations.

Impact and Notable Contributions

The institute has influenced national health policy through analyses that informed revisions to the Health Insurance Law (Israel), priority-setting for the national basket of health services, and pandemic planning cited by Ministry of Health (Israel) and Knesset committees. Its research on vaccine uptake and effectiveness contributed to policy discussions alongside findings from Israel Center for Disease Control and international trials led by Oxford Vaccine Group and Imperial College London. Publications and reports have appeared in journals associated with The Lancet, New England Journal of Medicine, and BMJ, and its staff have participated in conferences such as World Health Summit, International Epidemiological Association meetings, and European Public Health Conference.

Category:Research institutes in Israel Category:Epidemiology