Overview

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation’s premier institutions for medical education, basic research and clinical investigations. In September 2015, Montefiore Health System assumed full operational control of Einstein. Together, Einstein-Montefiore advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. Combining nationally recognized clinical excellence with a population health perspective that focuses on the comprehensive needs of the communities it serves, Einstein-Montefiore delivers coordinated, compassionate, science-driven care where, when and how patients need it most. Montefiore Health System is comprised of more than 2,400 providers and spans 11 hospitals, including the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites. The health system derives its inspiration for excellence from its patients and community and continues to be on the front lines of developing innovative approaches to care.

While education is at the heart of Einstein’s mission, it is biomedical research that drives the College of Medicine’s growth. Einstein’s relationship with Montefiore supports a long-standing focus on bench-to-bedside research, through which discoveries in Einstein’s laboratories lead to therapies and treatments for patients on an accelerated timetable.

Long a national leader in biomedical research support from the federal government, Albert Einstein College of Medicine secured $197.3 million from the National Institutes of Health in federal fiscal year 2020 — the largest annual total in Einstein’s history. Factoring in the grants to Montefiore Health System, Einstein’s University Hospital and academic medical center and additional contracts, the total tips $223.6 million, reflecting a notable expansion of Einstein-Montefiore’s research enterprise. This includes the funding for Einstein major research centers in aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, cancer, clinical and translational research, liver disease and AIDS. Other areas of focus include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities.

Einstein also was the only New York City institution selected to participate in the federal government’s landmark Women’s Health Initiative, and it is currently one of just four sites nationwide taking part in a large-scale study of the health status of the Hispanic/Latino community in the Bronx, supported by the NIH. The following are NIH Designated Centers:

• Albert Einstein Cancer Center
• Center for Aids Research
• Diabetes Research Center
• Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Einstein and Montefiore
• Institute for Aging Research
• Marion Bessin Liver Research Center
• New York Regional Center for Diabetes Translation Research
• Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center

The Einstein-Montefiore collaboration includes four jointly run Centers of Excellence and is further strengthened by the dual appointments of faculty and physicians across both institutions, enhancing synergies in research, teaching and patient care. The Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence are:

• Children’s Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM)
• Montefiore-Einstein Center for Cancer Care
• Montefiore-Einstein Center for Heart and Vascular Care
• Montefiore-Einstein Center for Transplantation

Research Experience

Einstein-Montefiore Research and Treatment Milestones

• Montefiore was among the first hospitals to establish departments of social services (1914), home healthcare (1947) and social medicine (1950).
• In 1994, it became the only New York City medical school selected by the NIH to participate in the Women's Health Treatment Initiative, the largest research study of women's health ever.
• The state-of-the-art Children's Hospital at Montefiore (CHAM) opened in 2001 and quickly in 2004 earned a world-class reputation for pediatric care with our successful separation of twins conjoined at the head.
• In 2006, it was the only medical institution in the northeast to serve as a research site for the Hispanic Community Health Study, the largest research study of Hispanic health ever.
• Leader of the Bronx Regional Health Information Organization (Bronx RHIO), a Bronx-wide consortium intended to facilitate clinical information exchange. The purpose is to build a secure, interoperable health information exchange that will promote patient-centered, rational, cost-effective treatments throughout the system.
• In 2019, the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in partnership with NYU School of Medicine received a grant from the NIH to establish the Early Phase Pain Investigation Clinical Network (EPICC-Net): Greater New York Clinical Center. EPICC-Net seeks to enhance the treatment of acute and chronic pain and reduce reliance on opioids by accelerating early-phase clinical trials of nonaddictive treatments for pain.
• Demonstrated the association between reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) or "good" cholesterol, and heart disease.
• Helped to develop ground-breaking new protocols for the treatment of diabetes based on more sophisticated methods of monitoring glucose levels.
• Developed pioneering techniques, including three types of regional chemotherapy treatments, for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer based on the genetics of both the tumor and the patient.

• Developed treatments and technology that revolutionized medical care, such as the cardiac pacemaker and cardiac catherization, now used worldwide.
• In 2011, Montefiore was recognized by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as a Pioneer Accountable Care Organization for the formation of highly integrated teams of health professionals managing care around the patient, focusing on communication, coordination, engagement and prevention to provide higher quality care while reducing costs.
• In 2019, Montefiore Medical Center was ranked number six in New York and nationally as ninth in adult specialties and sixth in children’s specialties, according to U.S. News & World Report.  The hospital is rated high-performing in one adult specialty (orthopedics) and four adult procedures and conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, colon cancer surgery, heart failure and knee replacement.

Treatment Areas

Investigator Experience

Albert Einstein College of Medicine is comprised of 2,153 faculty members with international recognition and known as prominent leaders in their respective fields. These outstanding physicians and scientists are responsible for unparalleled scientific innovation and first-class application of medicine, having published 3,292 papers in peer-reviewed journals in 2018.

Staff Expertise

The research staff has extensive experience in conducting clinical research projects, including but not limited to study coordination, data management, human subject protection, study monitoring, contract negotiation, budget development, regulatory oversight, clinical project management, database development, data and safety monitoring community engagement and regulatory affairs.

Other Information

Founded on the partnership between Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center, the ICTR has helped cement collaboration in clinical and translation research since 2007. The ICTR is a member of the nationwide Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) consortium, funded by the NIH. The CTSA is designed to break down barriers that inhibit cross-disciplinary, bidirectional research from the laboratory to the clinic and back again.

The mission of the Einstein-Montefiore ICTR is to

• Improve the transfer of information from "bench-to-bedside” to better serve the community;
• Enhance community participation in research activities;
• Enhance the discipline of clinical and translational research by promoting multidisciplinary collaboration;
• Address critical barriers in research to accelerate the transition of beneficial research;
• Provide infrastructure and collaborative support; and
• Enhance training, education and career development as part of the CTSA consortium in order to improve opportunities for the development of a diverse investigator and research community.