Mount Sinai And Stony Brook Announce Affiliation

NEW YORK and STONY BROOK, N.Y., Aug. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --- Stony Brook Medicine and the Mount Sinai Health System today announced that they are entering into an affiliation agreement that includes collaboration on research, academic programs and clinical care initiatives, effective immediately. The institutions launched the partnership to heighten academic and research synergies and to promote discovery, provide expanded clinical trials for both institutions, and achieve breakthroughs in understanding and treating disease.

"This is a momentous day for academic medicine, health care, our respective students, faculty and staff, and for all those who are cared for by our teams of highly trained, dedicated clinicians," said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD. "Each institution has so much to offer, so this is an opportunity that will prove to be beneficial for all - now and in the future - as we explore and grow this incredible collaboration."

"Mount Sinai and Stony Brook bring unique strengths to this partnership, and together we will use our outstanding resources to create changes in medicine," said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System. "We are committed to further developing this exciting collaboration and finding new ways to enhance academics and clinical care."

"The partnership will revolutionize medical research by combining expertise from both premier medical schools," said 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. "Both institutions are committed to a culture of innovation in research and education, and we look forward to working with Stony Brook to help make exciting breakthroughs in health care."

Expanding Research and Academic Programs

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Stony Brook University will collaborate to develop a wide range of research programs in fields including biomedical engineering and computer science; drug discovery and medicinal chemistry sciences; neuroscience, neurology and psychiatry; basic biology and novel therapeutics; and, public health and health systems. The alliance will capitalize on Stony Brook's expertise in mathematics, high-performance computing, imaging, and the physical and chemical sciences, and Mount Sinai's strengths in biomedical and clinical research, and health policy and outcomes.

"The opportunities for amazing science to spring from our collaborative efforts are truly boundless," said Kenneth Kaushansky, MD, Senior Vice President for Health Sciences, and Dean of the Stony Brook University School of Medicine. "When you bring the intellectual and biomedical horsepower of the Icahn School of Medicine faculty together with the outstanding neuroscientists, cancer biologists, imaging innovators, cardiovascular experts, and leading biomedical informaticists of the Stony Brook School of Medicine, as well as the world-class departments of computer sciences, biomedical engineering, chemistry, and applied mathematics at Stony Brook University, the possibilities are staggering. Then add the Stony Brook Schools of Health Technology, Dental Medicine, Social Welfare, Nursing, and Pharmacy into the mix. Health sciences education can only flourish, and the possibilities for innovative approaches to clinical care are not just theoretical, but expected. We look forward to working with Mount Sinai on large-scale research and clinical collaborations that will transform health care from Manhattan to Montauk."

Through the partnership, the schools will develop joint graduate and medical educational programs in all areas, leveraging the strength of existing master's and doctoral programs at each institution. Students will have the opportunity to take classes on both campuses, allowing them to learn new techniques and expand their learning capacity. Mount Sinai and Stony Brook will also build summer programs for undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students.

In addition, Mount Sinai and Stony Brook will invest a combined $500,000 to launch competitive and unique pilot programs, with the intent to receive collaborative external funding. Projects will be determined and overseen by a committee composed of three representatives from each institution.

"We will establish a joint committee to evaluate proposals and decide on what projects to pursue," said Eric Nestler, MD, PhD, Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs, Nash Family Professor and Chair of the Fishberg Department of Neuroscience, and Director of the Friedman Brain Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "This is a major investment that will have a dramatic influence on both campuses' ability to advance education, research, diagnostics, and treatment."

"Major breakthroughs in improving diagnostics and therapeutics in health care come from research, usually starting at the very basic level and moving into translational and clinical research and eventually to the bedside," said Lina Obeid, MD, Dean for Research and Vice Dean for Scientific Affairs at Stony Brook University School of Medicine. "Stony Brook Medicine and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai are two power-houses of research that when partnered will definitely yield greater discoveries than just the sum of their parts. The joint pilots in research have immense promise to advance health at the most exciting time in the biomedical sciences, including advanced computational, bioinformatic, and engineering approaches."

About Stony Brook Medicine

Stony Brook Medicine integrates and elevates all of Stony Brook University's health-related initiatives: education, research and patient care. It includes five Health Sciences schools -- Dental Medicine, Health Technology and Management, Medicine, Nursing and Social Welfare -- as well as Stony Brook University Hospital and more than 50 community-based healthcare settings throughout Suffolk County. To learn more, visit www.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

About Stony Brook University School of Medicine

Established in 1971, the Stony Brook University School of Medicine includes 25 academic departments. The three missions of the School are to advance the understanding of the origins of human health and disease; train the next generation of committed, curious and highly capable physicians; and deliver world-class compassionate healthcare. As a member of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) and a Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) accredited medical school, Stony Brook is one of the foremost institutes of higher medical education in the country. Each year the School trains nearly 500 medical students and more than 480 medical residents and fellows. Faculty research includes National Institutes of Health-sponsored programs in neurological diseases, cancer, cardiovascular disorders, biomedical imaging, regenerative medicine, infectious diseases, and many other topics. Physicians on the School of Medicine faculty deliver world-class medical care through more than 30,000 inpatient, 80,000 emergency room, and approximately 350,000 outpatient visits annually at Stony Brook University Hospital and affiliated clinical programs, making its clinical services one of the largest and highest quality on Long Island, New York. To learn more, visit www.medicine.stonybrookmedicine.edu.

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 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 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 12 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is in the "Honor Roll" of best hospitals in America, ranked No. 15 nationally in the 2016-2017 "Best Hospitals" issue of U.S. News & World Report. The Mount Sinai Hospital is also ranked as one of the nation's top 20 hospitals in Geriatrics, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Nephrology, Neurology/Neurosurgery, and Ear, Nose & Throat, and is in the top 50 in four other specialties. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 10 nationally for Ophthalmology, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke's, and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. Mount Sinai's Kravis Children's Hospital is ranked in seven out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report in "Best Children's Hospitals." To learn more, visit www.mountsinai.org.

About the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is an international leader in medical and scientific training, biomedical research, and patient care. It is the medical school for the Mount Sinai Health System, an integrated health care system which includes seven hospitals and an expanding ambulatory network serving approximately 4 million patients per year. The School has more than 1,800 students in MD, PhD, and Master's programs and post-doctoral fellowships; more than 5,600 faculty members; over 2,000 residents and fellows; and 23 clinical and research institutes and 34 academic departments. It is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per principal investigator. The School was the first medical school in the country to create a progressive admissions approach for students who seek early assurance of admission through the FlexMed program. The Graduate School of Biomedical Science trains PhD and MD/PhD students, and offers master's-level programs in areas such as genetic counseling, clinical research, biomedical sciences, and public health, and an online master's degree in health care delivery leadership. The seamless connections between our medical school, graduate school, and hospital campuses provide an extraordinary environment for translating scientific discoveries into clinical treatments. To learn more, visit http://icahn.mssm.edu/.

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CONTACT: Melissa Weir, 631-444-7880, [email protected]

SOURCE Stony Brook Medicine