The BIRAX programme, which was set up to fund joint Israeli-British research, has recently announced its first round of grants.

£365,000 has been allocated to some really interesting projects, including:

• Research into Aramaic magical texts, a joint project of Southampton and Tel Aviv universities
• A project by Tel Aviv University and Imperial College looking at how the nose helps fight germs
• UCL and the Weizmann Institute’s work on understanding motor neuron diseases
• Research into Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease by Ben Gurion and Leeds universities

…and many more – full list here.

In response, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:

“I very much welcome the announcement of the grants for fifteen collaborative research projects involving Israeli and UK universities. The variety and diversity of these successful bids reflect the strong nature of the UK-Israel bilateral relationship. It was an honour for me launch the scheme in July 2008, together with the Israeli Prime Minister, and my government continues to support and actively encourage academic links between the UK and Israel.”