Investing in Future Scientists, Feinstein Institutes Gets $1.5M NIH Grant to Develop Training Program

MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Doubling down on efforts to prepare highly qualified young scientists for a career in immune disease-focused medical research, The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, the science arm of Northwell Health, has been awarded a multi-year National Institutes for Health (NIH) grant totaling $1.5 million. The grant will support the development of a rigorous training program in translational immunology for two pre-doctoral and one post-doctoral candidates in the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes.

The program will operate in conjunction with the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine and the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.

As one of the top 6 percent of independent research institutions funded by the NIH, the Feinstein Institutes is a trailblazer in basic science research, particularly the immune system’s role in multiple diseases. The Institute of Molecular Medicine is ideally positioned to train future physician-scientists through its close relationships and collaborations between physicians, clinical researchers and basic science researchers across the health system.

“Highly trained scientists are needed to help propel the advances of biomedical research which will result in better care for patients with immunologic and inflammatory disorders,” said Anne Davidson, MBBS, professor in the Institute of Molecular Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes, and program lead. “Through the support of the NIH we are investing in the future of our science, and specifically in smart, dedicated young investigators who may one day help cure some of the most serious diseases.”

The Feinstein Institutes has two major non-federally funded training programs; the first with the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine to confer a doctorate in Molecular Medicine to exceptional, recently graduated physicians with interest in translational research. The second is with the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine, recognized among the top medical schools nationwide for medical research and primary care. With these two training programs, there is already a strong infrastructure in place to help prepare these young investigators.

“Scientific advancements require training up-and-coming scientists,” said Kevin J. Tracey, MD, president and CEO of the Feinstein Institutes. “Now the NIH’s support of Dr. Davidson’s program will strengthen the foundation for training future leaders in the science of autoimmune disease.”

The Feinstein Institutes continues to receive significant extramural funding, including a recent $1.3 million NIH grant to study neuro-immune signaling for bioelectronic medicine research and a $2.9 million NIH grant to investigate in-vitro fertilization genetic risk factors.

About the Feinstein Institutes
The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, the largest health care provider and private employer in New York State. Home to 50 research labs, 3,000 clinical research studies and 5,000 researchers and staff, the Feinstein Institutes raises the standard of medical innovation through its five institutes of behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, and molecular medicine. We make breakthroughs in genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity, and are the global scientific leader in bioelectronic medicine – a new field of science that has the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how we produce knowledge to cure disease, visit http://feinstein.northwell.edu and follow us on LinkedIn.