BIRAX is an initiative of the British Embassy, Israel and the British Council. BIRAX was established in 2008 by the British and Israeli Governments, with the support of the Pears Foundation and UJIA. It aims to enhance research and academic cooperation, creating new institutional links for the future and strengthening academic links between universities in the UK. BIRAX is the vehicle for increasing the level of collaboration between academics and institutions in Britain and Israel and is a central part of the work of the British Council.

In September 2011 there was an ambitious scaling up of the programme with the creation of the BIRAX Regenerative Medicine Initiative. This is a 5 year programme building on the success of the original BIRAX initiative, to deepen and promote collaboration between the UK and Israel in regenerative medicine.

The scheme will give generous support to joint high quality and ground-breaking UK-Israel research projects. These projects should offer a significant impact on global health, enhance joint research between British and Israeli academic institutions and invest in early stage collaboration between researchers, including PhD and Postdoctoral

The BIRAX regenerative medicine programme would not have been possible without the invaluable support of a number of partner organisations and individuals, notably the Bonita Trust, Lord Fink, the Kahn Foundation, the Pears Foundation, the Israeli Ministry of Science and Technology, the Rosetrees Trust, the Maurice and Vivienne Wohl Philanthropic Foundation, the MRC (Medical Research Council), the UJIA, the Wolfson Family Charity Trust, and Yad Hanadiv. We are extremely grateful for their generosity and cooperation.