Overview

The Samuel Bronfman Department of Medicine is among the top 20 departments of medicine in the country in terms of funding from the National Institutes of Health. But this one measure, while important, is insufficient to reflect the size and impact of the work conducted here.

Mount Sinai is rare among academic medical centers in having both the campuses and the administrations of the school and hospital intertwined to the point where there is little distinction between where one begins and the other ends. This physical and administrative structure is ideal for translational research. Basic scientists, clinical researchers, clinicians and educators share space, serve on the same committees, and meet regularly throughout campus.

Within Mount Sinai, this overlap is most pronounced in the Department of Medicine. Every division is a clinical division with a primary mission of providing the highest quality care to our patients. Research to improve available treatment options so that our patients can live longer, healthier lives is a significant component of this mission. Whether basic or clinical, all of this research is in reality translational. Because the researcher is often also a clinician or if not one his or her self, works closely with clinicians, all research is conducted with one overriding question in mind – how will this work benefit patients today, tomorrow, or ten years from now?

This focus directly led to a major initiative within the Department to advance personalized medicine (link to Personalized Medicine Program). Since the completion of the Human Genome Project it has become clear that personalization is the future of medicine. But, while many talk of the genomic revolution, few are actually preparing for it. In the Samuel Bronfman Department of Medicine we are not only building the scientific, clinical and education infrastructure needed to usher in the age of personalized medicine.

While the Personalized Medicine Program is growing, the Department continues its leadership in research in many areas. Each division has its unique areas of specialization and each has contributed major advances that have led to improved diagnostic tools and treatments for a wide variety of conditions.

Through departmental cores and centralized services to coordinate grant submissions and clinical trials the leadership of the Samuel Bronfman Department of Medicine strives to create an environment in which scientists and clinician researchers have the support they need to be creative and productive.