The Mount Sinai Health System recently established the Mount Sinai Institute of Technology (MSIT), with a $5 million grant from the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC). As part of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, MSIT will train students to develop technology-based solutions that improve human health, and serve as an incubator for transformative, cost-effective discoveries.
Through current and future educational programs—including the recently launched PhD program in Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship, and new Master’s program in Biomedical Informatics—the Institute will focus on areas such as mobile and wireless technology, cloud computing, Big Data, tissue engineering, robotics, mechatronics, drug repurposing and delivery, nanomedicine, and medical devices. The first programs will begin in the fall.
MSIT will serve as the primary locus for Mount Sinai’s academic partnership with Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and will pursue partnerships with pharmaceutical, biotechnology, information technology, and insurance companies; venture capital firms; and organizations such as the National Science Foundation.
“Innovation is a driving force in everything we do at Mount Sinai, in our classrooms and laboratories, and our operating suites,” says Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Mount Sinai Health System. “The Mount Sinai Institute of Technology will foster innovation that helps to solve the medical problems facing our society.” MSIT is Mount Sinai’s 16th Research Institute and its newest Center of Excellence.
Says Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System: “The Institute’s work will go a long way toward helping improve patient outcomes and the quality of life for people in New York City and elsewhere. We are grateful to the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the administration of former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg for their generous support in helping to make MSIT a reality.”
Geoffrey Smith, Professor, Department of Health Evidence and Policy at Icahn School of Medicine, will serve as the Founding Director of the Mount Sinai Institute of Technology. The grant will be used to establish several facilities at the Icahn School of Medicine campus, including a Rapid Prototyping Center, an Innovation Lab, and a Teaching Facility with electronically enabled classrooms, student meeting spaces, and computer-driven visualization technology.
The creation of the MSIT reflects the NYCEDC’s stated mission to promote life sciences and health care innovation in New York City as a means of encouraging investment, generating prosperity, and strengthening the city’s competitive position.