NIH awards Einstein College of Medicine & Montefiore Medical Center $22M grant

Prestigious award creates the Einstein-Montefiore Institute for Clinical & Translational Research

May 29, 2008 – (BRONX, NY) – The National Institutes of Health has awarded Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center one of its coveted Clinical and Translational Science Awards totaling $22 million over five years. The grant will support the new Einstein-Montefiore Institute for Clinical and Translational Research (ICTR), whose overarching goal is to collaboratively expedite the transfer of research discoveries at Einstein and Montefiore to patient care.

“With this award, Einstein and Montefiore join an elite group of biomedical research institutions, now comprising 38 academic health centers in the nation,” said Dr. Allen M. Spiegel, The Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean of Einstein. “The goal of this nationwide consortium is to revolutionize how clinical and translational research is conducted, enabling researchers to provide new treatments more quickly to patients. Translational research in the genome era can fundamentally change the way medicine is practiced.”

“This prestigious grant will provide resources and the stimulus for our clinical and research teams at Montefiore and Einstein to refocus long-existing collaborative programs in cancer, heart, diabetes and other devastating conditions,” said Dr. Steven Safyer, president and CEO of Montefiore Medical Center. “Our goal is to work together to develop new therapies, such as stem cell transplantation and novel surgical methods so we can offer unique treatment options to our patients.”

“Translational medicine” is the concept, encouraged by the NIH in recent years, that the traditional bench-to-bedside approach to finding therapies is really a two-way street. Basic scientists provide clinicians with new tools for use with their patients and for an assessment of their impact, and clinical researchers make novel observations about the nature and progression of disease in patients that often stimulates basic investigations. The grant awarded to Einstein and Montefiore is a result of this new NIH initiative recognizes and promotes the collaborative and synergistic nature of the research being done by integrated teams from both organizations.