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The National Knowledge Center for Rare / Orphan Diseases is an infrastructure knowledge center established by Ben Gurion University in cooperation with the Ministry of Science and Technology. The aim of the Knowledge Center is to provide the entire Israeli scientific community with the unique infrastructure required for advanced research in the field of rare / orphan diseases, including unique professional knowledge and skills, a dedicated laboratory and an advanced computer infrastructure.

The Knowledge Center is headed by Prof. Ohad Birk, head of the genetic Institute at the Soroka Medical Center and Head of the Maurice Kahn Human Genetics Laboratory at the Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University; and managed by Dr. Vered Chalifa-Caspi, Head of the Bioinformatics Core Facility at Ben Gurion University. In addition, leading scientists from Ben-Gurion University who study orphan / rare diseases in human and animal models are part of this center.

The Knowledge Center staff includes skilled bioinformatics experts, molecular biologists and geneticists, all with Ph.D degrees.

The center began operations in August 2017.