May 13, 2015 11:35 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

The Hebrew University of Jerusalem received a $30 million gift to launch the second stage of development of the school's center for brain sciences, school officials announced.

The Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation donates this multi-million gift five years after they gifted the university $20 million for the establishment of the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences (ELSC), JSpace reported.

The new donation "follows a progress report by a group of international neuroscience experts which concluded that 'ELSC has a strong base and great potential,'" according to Jspace.

"We are deeply grateful to Mrs. Lily Safra and the Edmond J. Safra Philanthropic Foundation for continuing to support the next stage of pioneering brain research at the Hebrew University," Menahem Ben-Sasson, president of Hebrew University, said in a statement. "Their leadership in making this historic initiative a reality will ensure that the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences benefits humanity for generations to come."

Since its inception in 2009, ElSC continued to grow and attracted neuroscience researchers from around the world. The center began with just 20 researchers from the Hebrew University, and has since grown with the recruitment of seven additional neuroscientists. Over the next five years, the university will hire eight more researchers to lead new labs.

 "The Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences was born five years ago, and has become known worldwide as a center of excellence," Eilon Vaadia, director of the brain center, said in a statement. "ELSC's mission is to develop a thriving interface between theoretical and experimental neuroscience across levels (cognition, behavior, neuronal circuits, cellular, and genetics-molecular), paving the way to innovative brain repair and augmentation."

ELSC focuses on synergistic interactive studies, using theoretical, computational approaches intertwined with experimental studies at four levels. 

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