• To develop and foster research activity in the field of disaster and emergency preparedness and to do so in a way that is comprehensive and interdisciplinary in its approach. 

  • To promote teaching and training in the fields of disaster preparedness, disaster and emergency medicine and the management of systems in disaster situations.

  • To serve as a knowledge and advice support hub, both locally and internationally.

  • To facilitate collaborative thinking, intellectual enrichment of renowned scholars and practitioners from various disciplines.

  • To create a dialogue and improve communication and coordination between the various fields involved in response to disaster situations.

  • To facilitate a future with more integrated preparedness systems resulting in improved effectiveness during times of need in Israel and abroad based on the broad knowledge acquired.

The Center will  focus on ten critical areas:

  1. Research on preparedness for a wide range of health-related emergency and disaster scenarios including (but not limited to):

    • Natural disasters: earthquakes, floods, tsunami, climate change, drought, volcanic eruptions
    • Conventional and unconventional acts of terror
    • Acts of war: conventional and unconventional – chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, cyber.
    • Unintentional injuries and accidents: traffic related, hazardous materials, fires, building defects etc.
    • Infectious Disease Outbreaks and Epidemics: agricultural disease, pandemic etc.
    • Research on responses to health related emergency and disaster situations, in the various scenarios as listed above.

  2. Social, behavioral and psychological effects of emergency and disaster situations.

  3. Social, cultural, legal, policy and ethical aspects (including leadership and accountability)

  4. Risk communication and public information issues

  5. Development of assessment and measurement tools for medical emergency and disaster scenarios including:

    • Preparedness of organizations for dealing with emergencies
    • Evaluating intervention models
    • Assessing the effectiveness of actual interventions
    • Accountability

  6. Definition of data needs and identification of data sources including building unique databases in the field of preparedness and response to health-related emergency and disaster scenarios.

  7. Encourage research and interdisciplinary collaboration between disciplines and organizations in the field of preparedness and response to emergency situations.

  8. Disseminate and implement, in Israel and abroad, the knowledge in the field of preparedness and response to emergency situations.

  9. Provide consultation, training programs for health and other related professionals in issues related to preparedness to emergency situations.

  10. Emerging agents and threats