Mount Sinai Receives $5 Million in Funding from the NYC Economic Development Corporation to Establish New Institute of Technology
New York, NY (PRWEB) December 04, 2013 -- The leadership of the Mount Sinai Health System joined city officials to announce $5 million in funding from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) toward the establishment of the Mount Sinai Institute of Technology, or MSIT. The funding will be used to transform existing space on the campus of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai – the academic medical institution of the Mount Sinai Health System – into several facilities for MSIT, with the overarching goal of radically transforming biomedicine through the discovery, design, development and delivery of entrepreneurially-driven, technology-based solutions to critical unmet medical needs, particularly in the current era of healthcare reform. The new facility’s anticipated completion date will be in the latter part of 2014.
New degree offerings related to MSIT commenced during the 2013-14 academic year.
Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs for the Mount Sinai Health System was joined by Geoffrey Smith, JD, the founding Director of the Mount Sinai Institute of Technology and a Professor in the Department of Health Evidence and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Robert K. Steel, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development of the City of New York, along with Kyle Kimball, President of the New York City Economic Development Corporation.
The joint announcement was made during an event hosted by NYCEDC on the grounds of Rockefeller University on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
“This is another milestone in Mount Sinai’s evolution from a stand-alone hospital founded more than 160 years ago to the world-class academic medical center it is today,” said Kenneth L. Davis, CEO and President of the Mount Sinai Health System. “To our physicians, researchers and students, the word ‘innovation’ is more than just a buzzword – it is a driving force in everything we do, from our classrooms and laboratories to our operating suites. The Mount Sinai Institute of Technology will serve as an incubator for innovation, helping to solve the medical problems facing our society.”
About the Mount Sinai Institute of Technology (MSIT)
The mission of MSIT is to transform biomedicine through the discovery, design, development and delivery of technology based solutions to critical unmet needs. MSIT will initially be organized around three primary technology categories:
• Digital Health Technologies including mobile health, wireless health, Big Data, cloud computing, social networking, scientific computing, and scientific and clinical simulation;
• Biologically Integrated Technologies including tissue engineering, sensors, microprocessors, robotics, mechatronics, MEMs, and microfluidics; and
• Prescription Technologies including drug repurposing, drug delivery, nanomedicine, and medical devices.
Key facilities exclusive to MSIT will include the following:
• The Rapid Prototyping Center, which will be housed in the Atran-Berg Research Building and which will support state-of-the-art equipment such as laser cutters, 3-D printers, CNC micro-milling machines, spin coaters, mask aligners, profilometers, chemical hoods, clean benches, and CAD workstations;
• The MSIT Innovation Lab, to be located in the Annenberg Building and which will have meeting spaces, a small-scale prototyping space, CAD workstations, and virtual communications infrastructure; and
• The MSIT Teaching Facility, also to be located in the Annenberg Building and which will have electronically-enabled classrooms, student meeting spaces, and computer-driven visualization technology.
Working in conjunction with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the Mount Sinai Institute of Technology will feature educational offerings, including the recently launched PhD in Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship. MSIT will also explore support for other degree programs, including the potential creation of a technology development track in the existing Master of Public Health degree program and a new Masters in Biomedical Informatics.
MSIT’s entrepreneurial activities, including the 4D Technology Development Program, will be managed through the Center for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (cTIE) at Mount Sinai.
The Institute of Technology joins a prestigious group of other specialty institutes and centers of excellence at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai that are carrying out groundbreaking and innovative initiatives to advance basic science and research. “We are grateful to the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the administration of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg for their generous support in helping to make MSIT a reality,” said Dr. Charney. “The City has long recognized the need to expand applied science education and to establish research facilities for these efforts. The work that we’ll carry out at the Institute – from basic research to developing medical technology and devising effective treatments – will ultimately go a long way toward helping improve patient outcomes and the quality of life for people in New York City and beyond.”
“Growing New York City’s bioscience industry is a central goal in NYCEDC’s efforts to diversify the economy, spur entrepreneurship and promote high-growth industries in which the City has competitive advantages,” said NYCEDC President Kyle Kimball. “Through this initiative with Mount Sinai and our overall investments in the bioscience ecosystem, we have helped build an engine for innovation and economic development for decades to come.”
The creation of the Mount Sinai Institute of Technology in partnership with NYCEDC “is an exciting example of a public-private partnership developing critical resources to address major problems,” said Mr. Smith. “MSIT will allow us to address major challenges in the biomedical sciences through the development of novel, cost-effective, technology based solutions while training the next-generation of scientific and clinical leaders to have the technical expertise and practical experience to drive use-inspired basic research from original biologic insight all the way through the technology and product development process.”
“The Mount Sinai Institute of Technology is a robust extension of our partnership with the Icahn School of Medicine,” said Rensselaer President Shirley Ann Jackson. “This research and technology hub will enable innovation and discovery in biomedical technologies, healthcare analytics and education, and drive economic development and improved health care. Rensselaer will work closely with Mount Sinai to foster the growth of the MSIT, while expanding opportunities to build Rensselaer-driven biomedical technologies upstate.”
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is an integrated health system committed to providing distinguished care, conducting transformative research, and advancing biomedical education. Structured around seven member hospital campuses and a single medical school, the Health System has an extensive ambulatory network and a range of inpatient and outpatient services—from community-based facilities to tertiary and quaternary care.
The System includes approximately 6,600 primary and specialty care physicians, 12-minority-owned free-standing ambulatory surgery centers, over 45 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island, as well as 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the top 20 medical schools both in National Institutes of Health funding and by U.S. News & World Report.
Contact:
Sid Dinsay
Mount Sinai Press Office
(212) 241-9200
NewsMedia(at)mssm(dot)edu
Sid Dinsay, The Mount Sinai Medical Center, +1 (212) 241-9200, [email protected]
Share this article