Grant Application Research

Center for Comparative Medicine and Surgery (CCMS) 

The Center for Comparative Medicine and Surgery (CCMS) is a centralized, shared resource supporting animal research via veterinary, husbandry care, and research collaboration with the faculty at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The program has been fully accredited by the Association for Assessment & Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care, International (AAALAC - #00002), since 1967. The center also provides assistance with research protocol design, clinical and anatomic pathology, and training of research personnel in the care and use of laboratory animals. There are four primary sites of operation, with the central administration located in the Annenberg Research Building, 26th Floor. The other major housing areas are the Icahn Medical Institute (IMI); the Hess Center for Science and Medicine (HCSM); 787 as an Annex Mount Sinai research facility and the Atran Research building. 

Annenberg Research Building 

The largest variety of species is housed in this building. Administrative offices, large animal surgical support (one operating room and two catheterization labs), and a veterinary diagnostic laboratory are located here. 

Icahn Medical Institute 

This state-of-the-art rodent barrier facility offers fully automated rodent housing (ventilated caging and automatic watering), necropsy suite, and Animal Biosafety Laboratory (ABSL3) capability. Also located within this vivarium are the Mouse Genetics Shared Research Facility, Metabolic monitoring facility, and Gnotobiotic rodent facility. 

Atran Research Building 

This small facility provides overflow support for the Annenberg and IMI, respectively. Animals housed in this area reflect the general health profiles of the major support areas. 

Hess Center for Science and Medicine 

The HCMS vivarium is the newest and largest vivarium on campus. Designed to specifically support Imaging, Neuroscience behavioral studies, and Cancer research, the vivarium is adjacent to the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute’s small animal imaging suites and large animal imaging capability. Fully automated, robotics, cage wash support and state-of-the-art environmental monitoring systems are additional key features of this facility. 

The faculty of the CCMS consists of six full time veterinarians: (Director, DVM/MS/DACLAM; Associate Director, Head of Veterinary Translational Medicine, Assistant Professor / Clinical Veterinarian and Director of Behavioral Management Program, DVM/MPH/DACLAM; Head, Comparative Surgery Facility, DVM; Head of Small Animal Medicine, BVetMed (Hons) MRCVS; and Veterinary Pathologist, DVM). The Husbandry operation is managed by Assistant Director of Husbandry Operations, CMAR, four full time husbandry supervisors and two husbandry assistant supervisors. All supervisors are certified at the Laboratory Animal Technologist level LATg) by the American Association of Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS). An ongoing in-house training program is in place and conducted by two full time Training Coordinators (MLAS, MBA). The institution also supports a weekly AALAS certification training program for all husbandry and research personnel interested in certification. 

Discovery and Innovation Center (W787) 

This new center is an annex Mount Sinai research facility that opened in August 2023. It offers support of collaborations with New York Stem Cell Institute, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Mount Sinai West researchers. The vivarium is located on the 8th floor of the building and has 5 rodent housing rooms and 8 procedure rooms. 

Visit the Center for Comparative Medicine and Surgery or email Jonathan A. Cohen for more information. 

Last Update: April 2026 

The Clinical Research Unit (CRU) is the hub for conducting clinical and translational research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. There are more than 100 active research studies utilizing CRU resources, spanning a wide variety of specialties and subspecialties that involve research participants of all ages. The staff includes nurse practitioners who can complete physical examinations, monitor research participants, and administer investigational drug infusions. The medical assistant is proficient in phlebotomy, ECG acquisition, and specimen processing. The reception area, located on the first floor of the Annenberg Building (adjacent to the elevator bank), includes exam rooms for brief visits and minor procedures. The Ross Park CRU Annex is equipped with rooms for day-long procedures and interventions such as study drug infusions, serial PK sampling, and lumbar punctures. The CRU is open Monday - Friday from 8:00 AM - 5:30 PM. Walk-in phlebotomy services are available on weekdays, 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. 

 

Visit the Clinical Research Unit or email cru@mssm.edu for more information. 

Last Updated: April 2026

Research - Dean's CoREs

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (the “School”) established the Dean's Centers of Research Excellence (CoREs) and Shared Research Resources Program to provide support for innovative, state-of-the-art technologies, and technical assistance essential to our research programs in translational and basic sciences. The compact size of the School’s main campus makes it possible for investigators to have easy and unlimited access to these resources.

By housing expensive state-of-the-art equipment and providing specialized technical expertise, the CoREs provide investigators with resources beyond the capacity of an individual laboratory, enabling them to stay at the forefront of their fields. Accordingly, most publications and grant applications from our researchers include data obtained with the assistance of at least one CoRE facility.

Instrument capital costs and service agreements are covered through a combination of instrumentation grants, the School’s capital budget, and departmental contributions. The CoREs also receive substantial financial support from the School, averaging 20% - 30% of running costs, making it possible to charge investigators reduced user fees. This expands the volume of research in the School, accelerating progress and discovery. The CoREs also enhance the potential for multidisciplinary collaboration by bringing together investigators working in complementary research areas and stimulating crosstalk between basic science and clinical researchers.

This website links to information about the individual CoREs, including their services, fees, methodological protocols, and where appropriate, the opportunity to sign up for usage on a web-based calendar.

Structure and Governance of the Dean's CoREs and Shared Research Resources Program

The program is administered through the Dean's Office by Sarah E Millar, PhD, Dean for Academic and Scientific Affairs, and Shekhar Patil, PhD, Senior Administrative Director. Fiscal oversight for the CoREs is provided through the office of Rachel Posner, Senior Associate Dean for Research Administration, and Christian Chino, Senior Financial Director. Each CoRE is led by a Director, and is staffed by experts who provide research services, educate investigators on the use of the CoRE’s technology, and help them develop studies in support of their research projects. Operational oversight is provided through a dual peer review process. Each CoRE has a dedicated Scientific Advisory Committee chosen from its user group. Advisory committees meet annually to evaluate the CoRE operations and recommend improvements and updates to CoRE technology and services. CoREs are also reviewed on a three to five-year cycle of external reviews. The external review criteria include publication credits, technology, and personnel expertise. These reviews assist the institution in determining the need for continued support and help identify emerging trends in technology.

Biorepository and Pathology

The facility provides a consultative service to determine investigator requirements for human tissue and fluid biospecimens in translational research and arranges procurement as feasible. After meeting with the investigators about their respective research needs, CoRE personnel determine the best mechanism to obtain samples and implement the collection. This is made possible by the physical location of this Dean's CoRE in the Icahn School of Medicine Department of Pathology, Molecular, and Cell-based Medicine, providing for the ability to collect both de-identified and consented 'waste' biospecimens not required for clinical diagnosis.

The CoRE includes a full-service pathology laboratory, offering basic histology services with the capability to process, embed, section, and stain fixed and frozen tissues for the Mount Sinai research community. We also prepare unstained slides suitable for a variety of applications. We offer immunostaining services, including immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence using commercial antibodies, and perform semi-automated and fully automated immunostaining using the Roche Discovery Ultra immunostaining platform. In addition to routine single immunostains we offer multi-chromogen multiplex immunostaining. The CoRE has a complete bright field digital scanning system, image analysis software HALO from Indica Labs), and a semi-automated tissue micro-arrayer. The CoRE provides DNA/RNA extraction from all tissue types as well as liquid biospecimens for downstream next generation sequencing and other applications. We support all spatial transcriptomics platforms including selection of ROIs, assessing RNA quality, and appropriate specimen preparation. 

Furthermore, the CoRE serves to educate investigators about the appropriate human subjects considerations when requests for human materials are made, thus assuring that all human biospecimen applications are in full compliance with HIPAA and IRB regulations.

Please visit the website or email the CoRE Director Rachel Brody for more information.

Cryo-EM CoRE

Recent advances in cryo-EM are transforming drug discovery and the understanding of biological and disease mechanisms. The newly established Cryo-EM core houses state-of-the-art instrumentation for the measurement of near-atomic resolution data collection. The Core provides two key services: 1) a Vitrobot vitrification system for sample preparation, and 2) a Glacios 2 Cryo-TEM, from Thermo Fisher Scientific, for image acquisition. The Galcios 2 Cryo-TEM is a 200kV microscope that allows users to easily collect near-atomic data from a broad range of biological targets. Compared to the previous generation, the Glacios 2 Cryo-TEM delivers higher throughput and makes Cryo-EM more accessible to users. It features an integrated Falcon 4i Direct Electron Detector and Thermo Scientific EPU Software, which combine to enhance image quality, automate data acquisition, and greatly simplify the workflow.

Please email the co-directors Aneel Aggarwal, PhD, and Daniel Wacker, PhD, for more information.

Flow Cytometry

The Flow Cytometry CoRE provides state-of-the-art instrumentation and expert technical consultation for high-dimensional flow cytometry analysis and high-speed cell sorting. The facility features a diverse suite of analytical cytometers and sorters, including the latest spectral technology capable of resolving up to 78 simultaneous fluorescent parameters in real time. Our analytical fleet includes multiple spectral and conventional systems, such as three Cytek Aurora (Full Spectrum) instruments, the BD FACSymphony A5 SE, BD LSRFortessa X-20, BD FACSCanto II, Thermo Fisher Attune NxT, and a Cytek/Amnis ImageStreamX Mk II for imaging flow cytometry. For cell sorting, the facility maintains a robust fleet including three BD FACSymphony S6 systems, an Aurora CS spectral sorter, BD FACSAria II, and a Miltenyi Biotec MACSQuant Tyto sorter. Notably, the facility also offers the BD FACS Discover S8, which enables high-speed sorting based on real-time imaging and spectral signatures.

To support high-impact translational research, all cell sorters are housed within Class II biosafety cabinets, allowing for the safe isolation of unfixed human samples and infectious materials (BSL-2+) by mitigating aerosol-related risks to users and operators. This institutional investment of over $1.8M is essential for advancing research in stem cell biology, immunology, oncology, and infectious diseases. All instruments are available for staff-assisted operation or autonomous use following comprehensive training, with additional expert consultation available for high-dimensional panel design, protocol optimization, and data analysis.

For more information, please visit our website or contact the CoRE Director Siu-hong Ho, PhD.

Freezer Farm

The Freezer Farm at the Icahn School of Medicine is a secure, safe, state of the art facility located in the Hess Building on Madison Avenue and the Morningside Building on Amsterdam Avenue. Both sites are fully equipped to meet scientific and research requirements. In the event of limited laboratory space, researchers have the option to relocate their valuable short term sample inventory to one of these Freezer Farm sites depending on the space availability. In order to ensure the safety and preservation of the materials stored, the Freezer Farm offers a variety of support systems and services including but not limited to emergency electrical back-up, 24/7 temperature monitoring with on- and off-site call out system and emergency transport, temperature records on all systems, freezer maintenance as necessary, and week-day access with support staff ready to assist.

Please visit our website or email Colin Barrett for more information.

Irradiator

The use of gamma irradiation to the whole body in animals (rodents) and/or cells has been a major research model for many years. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical hosts one Precision X-ray X-RAD320 machine in support of this research that is available for self-use to trained users. Training is available online on PEAK. This machine is housed within the central vivarium due to the proximity of the animals used in the various studies. A separate entrance has been designed such that non-animal users are not required to enter the main animal barriers. Please visit the website for more information.

Please visit the website or email Shekhar Patil for more information.

Metabolomics CoRE

The Metabolomics CoRE at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS), located on the Mount Sinai West Campus, provides investigators with advanced mass spectrometry–based metabolomics capabilities to support cutting-edge biomedical research. Our mission is to enable high-impact discovery by delivering state-of-the-art analytical platforms, rigorous methodologies, and expert scientific guidance for the study of metabolic pathways and disease mechanisms.

The CoRE is equipped with a comprehensive suite of instrumentation, including Agilent 8890/5977C GC–MS, Agilent 6495D LC–MS/MS (triple quadrupole), and high-resolution Thermo Fisher Orbitrap IQ-X Tribrid LC–MS systems. These platforms enable sensitive, accurate, and high-throughput metabolite detection across a broad range of analytes and biological contexts. Automated sample preparation using the Agilent Bravo platform further enhances reproducibility, recovery, and scalability, supporting both small and large cohort studies.

We offer validated assays across diverse biological matrices, including plasma, serum, urine, saliva, cultured cells, and tissues from human and animal models. In addition, the CoRE has specialized expertise in stable isotope tracing using 13C-, 15N-, and 2H-labeled substrates, enabling detailed interrogation of metabolic flux and pathway activity.

The Metabolomics CoRE supports both hypothesis-generating (untargeted) and hypothesis-driven (targeted) studies. Our team partners closely with investigators at all stages of the project lifecycle, including study design, sample handling strategies, data acquisition, quality control, statistical analysis, and biological interpretation.

Please visit the website or email Mirela Berisa and Daniel Puleston for more information.

Microscopy and Advanced Bioimaging CoRE:

The Microscopy and Advanced Bioimaging Core at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is a shared resource facility that offers access to state-of-the-art training, equipment, and imaging scientists to develop and execute imaging experiments and to train the next generation of microscopists. The CoRE provides all resources necessary to generate and quantify reproducible microscopy datasets for scientists of all levels and backgrounds.

Open to both internal and external users, it is accessible seven days a week. It houses widefield, laser scanning confocal, spinning disk confocal, multi-photon, light-sheet, and super-resolution microscopes; two transmission electron microscopes, and two high content screeners. The CoRE also houses high-end centralized workstations and servers for image processing, high-performance Computing (HPC) (ex, Deep Learning), and big-data processing and storage, and provides access to and support for several commercial and open-source software packages for image analysis and data quantification. 

Services offered include consultations for project development and sample preparation, training on the microscopes, full imaging support, and assistance with the development and implementation of data analysis strategies. CoRE scientists can also collaborate with investigators to develop novel imaging methods and analysis approaches. The facility also provides a full service for Transmission Electron Microscopy: tissue/cell processing, image acquisition training or assistance, and image analysis support.

The CoRE supports its educational mission not only by general microscopy and equipment training but also by offering image acquisition and analysis courses and workshops, the Fundamentals of Microscopy graduate school course, and monthly seminars.

The Microscopy Core is an established Leica Center of Excellence, a collaboration between the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Leica Microsystems.

For more information, please visit our website or contact the CoRE Director Deanna Benson, PhD or Assistant CoRE Director Nikolaos Tzavaras, PhD.

Microscopes and services can be reserved at: https://my.ilabsolutions.com/service_center/3869/?tab=about

The Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research CoRE:

The Neuropathology Brain Bank & Research CoRE, now encompassing the NIH-funded Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center Neuropathology Core at Mount Sinai, aims to strengthen tissue-based translational research of devastating brain diseases by expanding the infrastructure needed to accelerate collection, characterization, and distribution of tissue and data to researchers. The CoRE was launched in 2018 and encompasses a multidisciplinary team of neuropathologists, histotechnologists, PhD scientists, clinical coordinators, and research associates of all levels.

The Brain Bank CoRE provides a flexible tissue repository platform to facilitate the collection, characterization, and distribution of tissues and data for research projects which have a neuropathology component. Our platform provides a high throughput and extensive, high-quality resources.  We strive for a fast turnaround time to bank and provide neuropathological data.  Through this platform, we provide:

• Brain tissue, dura, pituitary, & spinal cord (fresh, frozen, fixed and FFPE)
• Postmortem serum and CSF (frozen)
• Images (gross tissues, slide scanning with Leica GT450 or Leica Versa 8)
• Study-specific brain banking with custom histological sampling
• Neuropathology data and reports
• Consultation services and project development
• Histopathological scoring including National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center data points

The Neuropathology Research CoRE makes available state-of-the-art histopathological approaches to characterize fixed and frozen brain tissues, including routine stains (H&E, Silver, etc.), immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization. Preparations can be digitized and analyzed using quantitative morphometrics. We have extensive experience working with large-format human brain sections to “mini-brain” organoids derived from human stem cells, and our services include:

• Tissue trimming, cassetting, processing, and embedding
• Cutting and routine staining of paraffin-embedded and frozen sections
• Routine stains (e.g., H&E)
• Special stains (LFB, Bielschowsky silver, etc.)
• Immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence for both routine and novel markers (Ventana Discovery Ultra and Leica Bond RX)
• In situ hybridization including RNAScope and BaseScope
• Antibody optimization

Please visit our website https://icahn.mssm.edu/research/resources/deans-cores/neuropathology or contact John Crary, MD-PhD or Jamie Walker, MD-PhD for more information.

To submit a request and find more information, please visit our iLab page: https://ismms.ilab.agilent.com/service_center/4759/?tab=services

Stem Cell Engineering CoRE

The Stem Cell Engineering CoRE (SCEC) provides institutional infrastructure, expertise, and services to support the integration of human stem cell models into research programs across the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Its mission is to enable investigators to implement and apply human pluripotent stem cell (PSC)–based systems for disease modeling, mechanistic studies, and translational research.

The SCEC is centrally located within the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (Icahn Building), with additional laboratory space for cell production and genome engineering in the Discovery and Innovation Center in Midtown West. The CoRE provides access to well-characterized human PSC lines, laboratory space, validated reagents, and hands-on training. The SCEC is also a member of COREdinates, an international network of stem cell engineering cores.

Core services include the derivation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from somatic sources (e.g., blood and fibroblasts), comprehensive characterization, and long-term biobanking. To date, the SCEC has generated over 600 iPSC lines from patient-derived somatic cells and engineered more than 300 iPSC lines using CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing, targeting over 160 unique genomic loci.

A major focus of the SCEC is genome engineering in PSCs using CRISPR-based technologies. Services include precise introduction or correction of point mutations, generation of reporter lines (e.g., fluorescent reporters), and development of inducible systems (e.g., Cre-lox, dTAG). In addition, the CoRE provides support for PSC differentiation into multiple cell types using both monolayer and three-dimensional organoid systems, as well as consultation on experimental design and implementation.

Since its start in 2020, the SCEC has contributed to over 15 peer-reviewed publications, supported more than 150 grant applications, trained over 30 scientists in PSC and genome engineering methodologies, and filed one patent.

Please visit the website or email the CoRE Director Samuele Marro, PhD for more information.

Transgenic and Genome Editing CoRE

The institutional Transgenic and Genome Editing (TGE) CoRE has been established to provide the Mount Sinai research community with access to state-of-the-art facilities for the production of transgenic and gene edited mice, as well as related rodent embryology techniques, on a fee-for-service basis. Our facility is equipped with cutting-edge technology and highly trained staff to offer full model creation services, from consultation until delivery of germline-confirmed genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs). To this purpose, we employ the latest genome editing tools such as CRISPR/Cas9 and the assisted reproductive technology to rapidly generate GEMMs with diverse genome modifications. In addition, we continue to support model creation via the traditional transgenesis and the gene targeting in the embryonic stem cells. Animals produced in the CoRE are thoroughly genotyped through our comprehensive genotyping services to ensure timely delivery of precisely edited animals. In addition to the creation of novel transgenic and targeted mutation lines, the TGE CoRE can assist laboratories with the maintenance of existing lines through the cryopreservation of sperm. Cryopreservation of mouse sperm allows investigators to successfully bank lines that are not in active use. Shipment of cryopreserved sperm can also serve as an alternative method for transferring lines to collaborators at other institutions. Through collaboration with the Center for Comparative Medicine and Surgery (CCMS), the TGE CoRE also provides investigators with the means to import novel lines from other institutions by recovering mice from cryopreserved embryos or sperm, live embryos, or through the use of IVF rederivation of individual males that are shipped to Mount Sinai. This service is an excellent alternative to the importation of rodents via live animal quarantine.

Please visit the website or email the CoRE Director, Youngwook Ahn, PhD for more information.

Last Update: May 2026

The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS) ranks 11th on NIH Reporter among the nation's 155 ranked medical schools in receipt of research support from NIH and administers more than 703 NIH grants, contracts and other transactions awarded to 463 Principal Investigators. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to ISMMS totaled $501.7 million in Fiscal Year 2025, an increase of 89 percent compared to 2015. 

Visit the Research page or contact Jessica Moise for more information. 

Last Update: April 2026

The Department of Pharmacy maintains an Investigational Drug Service (IDS) to support research activities at Icahn School of Medicine. The IDS is a research pharmacy charged with maintaining the control and accountability of investigational agents (FDA approved and non-approved) in compliance with Good Clinical Practices (GCPs), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and other regulations and laws as appropriate. The IDS provides dedicated research support including protocol review, storage, preparation, dispensing and education to groups and investigators engaged in research.

The IDS sets up specific procedures and systems for each clinical trial to assure maximum benefit and safety for patients enrolled in studies. The clinical coordinators are available to consult with any investigator or sponsor to discuss the logistics of conducting their trial at Mount Sinai. All human subject trials requiring the use of medications must get authorization from the IDS prior to Program for the Protection of Human Subjects (PPHS) final approval (IDS and PPHS reviews occur concurrently).

Visit Investigational Drug Services or email Ivy Cohen for more information.

Last Updated: April 2025

The Mount Sinai Data Warehouse (MSDW) provides data access for planning and executing clinical and translational research as well as for quality of care and process improvement initiatives. MSDW collects and organizes clinical and operational data derived from patient care processes across the Mount Sinai Health System, which is composed of 7 inpatient facilities. MSDW contains data on over 12 million patients and over 105 million patient encounters. The MSDW is compliant with New York State, HIPAA regulations, Title 42 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 2 (substance use disorder), Title 45 CFR Part 46 (the “Common Rule”), and with Mount Sinai Program for the Protection of Human Subjects and Institutional Review Board (IRB) policies regarding protection of human subjects and participation in research. MSDW also complies with Mount Sinai institutional policies that further protect patient privacy beyond what is required by law.

The Scientific Computing and Data (SCD) team has selected and prioritized data elements for inclusion in MSDW based on two main criteria: (1) the data elements required to produce a reasonably complete Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership (OMOP) data repository, as specified by the Observational Health Data Sciences and Informatics (or OHDSI, pronounced "Odyssey") program's OMOP Common Data Model, and (2) those data elements judged by the MSDW Advisory Board as having the greatest value to Mount Sinai researchers. The MSDW includes all patients with a record in Mount Sinai's instance of the Epic electronic health records (EHR). Until a hospital or physician practice has migrated to the Epic EHR, the MSDW will contain only the registration information for the patients seen at those sites, unless those patients have also been seen elsewhere in the Mount Sinai Health System.

Imaging studies from the Mount Sinai Image Research Warehouse (IRW) have been linked to patients’ Epic electronic health records in MSDW. The next step, currently in progress, is to link the imaging study data into the OMOP data repository. Additionally, the interface from the PowerPath pathology software system to MSDW has been built to extract data daily. This integration enables linking a patient’s Epic EHR data to their de-identified pathology slides in Data Ark. However, like the IRW imaging study data, the next step of integrating these PowerPath data into OMOP is currently underway.

Epic's Clarity reporting database is loaded from the Epic application Chronicles database once per day overnight, thereby introducing a 1-day lag in the data. Epic's Caboodle data warehouse is loaded from the Clarity reporting database once per day overnight, thereby introducing a second 1-day lag. The data extracted and loaded to MSDW from Epic Caboodle once per day will therefore represent a lag of approximately 60 hours.

The MSDW supports the research community by providing de-identified and identified data access for IRB approved studies; identifying cohorts and providing daily/weekly/monthly reports for these study population; providing upcoming appointment details for potential study recruits to aid in study enrollment; providing customized data marts for complex multi-dimensional studies. Researchers planning new studies or grant applications can search the MSDW to identify eligible cohorts by using one of several de-identified self-service query tools: Leaf, ATLAS, or TriNetX. In addition, the Data2Evidence (D2E) cohort query tool is in development, for use with the Artificial Intelligence-Ready Mount Sinai (AIR·MS) platform, a cloud-based, multi-modal health data platform that integrates patient data generated from different clinical departments across Health Systems, and MSDW. MSDW is situated on the Minerva High-Performance Computing (HPC) cluster, rather than on its own hardware, to lower operating costs and to facilitate links to other research data sets (imaging, genomics, pathology, etc.) already housed on Minerva. Minerva has over 2,000 applications available to enable multi-scale studies and data science.

The SCD team monitors, collects, and analyzes operational metrics for continuous quality improvement of the informatics ecosystem. SCD has developed tools that automatically collect system and user-related metrics for Minerva/High Performance Computing, Data Ark, MSDW,  and Artificial Intelligence-Ready Mount Sinai (AIR·MS). Relevant metrics include system uptime, number of users supported, number of self-service queries, databases, data marts and custom queries and the number of known data quality issues. Initial scientific impact metrics include the number and type of collaborations and support, the number of training sessions and students attending, the number of shared data sets and publications and grants that SCD assists with. Operational metrics are reviewed monthly, to determine if any processes can be improved to better researcher and clinician productivity. Activities and contributions to the Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) community are tracked through the sharing and adoption of best practices.

The MSDW team is committed to partnering with researchers and clinicians at both local and national levels. The MSDW team also contributes data to the INSIGHT Clinical Research Network (INSIGHT CRN) including participating in monthly meetings, as part of PCORNet. The MSDW team is largely composed of multiple data analysts/specialists, with three physician informaticists providing a bridge to researchers and clinicians.

SCD remains up to date on the implementation of NIH’s Strategic Plan for Data Science (and the NIH Data Commons), which may include opportunities to link MSDW data into a broader FAIR-compatible ecosystem with other National Center for Advancing Translational Science (NCATS) and NIH datasets.

Visit the Mount Sinai Data Warehouse website (https://msdw.mountsinai.org/) for more information.

Last Updated: April 2026

Office of Research Services – Developed in response to the needs of the Mount Sinai Health System’s (MSHS) expansion and the parallel evolving complexity of research regulations, policies and processes, the Office of Research Services (ORS) was established to facilitate the conduct of translational and clinical research through a centralized infrastructure supported by ConduITS’ Administrative Core and the Office of the Dean of Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The ORS provides oversight of program organization, evaluation, continuous improvement, quality, efficiency, safety and communications allowing ConduITS to continually identify barriers, gaps and unmet needs of the MSHS research community and to implement integrated solutions that impact the scope of Mount Sinai’s learning healthcare system.  

The ORS staff provides researchers throughout the MSHS with the following services: 

• Navigation of the internal research infrastructure which includes: 

• Required training for the conduct of research 

• Lifecycle of research management 

• Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS) 

• The ISMMS Offices of Research Administration 

• Human Subjects Protections Program 

• Grants and Contracts Office 

• Investigational Drug Services 

• Research Compliance 

• Research Financial Conflicts of Interest 

• Financial Administration of Clinical Trials 

• Regulatory Coordination: 

• Centralized NCBI - ClinicalTrials.gov registration, updates and reporting 

• Investigational New Drug Application and Investigational Device Exemption (IND/IDE) submissions & progress reports to the FDA 

• Pre-protocol development 

• Research recruitment strategies 

• Consultations and Services: 

• Clinical Research Portal Maintenance 

• Clinical Trial Feasibility Guidance 

• Grant Application Resource Center Maintenance 

• Multi-Site Study Support 

• Spanish Translations for NIH Funded Studies 

• Training, Education & Communications: 

• Clinical Research Orientation 

• Custom Training and Education 

• Research Listserv 

Given the increasing need for innovative informatics solutions to manage the workflow for translational sciences across the MSHS, the ORS has developed e-tools to assist researchers find answers to questions and provide navigation of the MSHS research infrastructure. These platforms also collect metrics about utilization, issues, and customer satisfaction to assist in the continuous improvement of the services provided by the ORS. In 2018, the ORS launched the health system’s global research help desk, Research 411, which replies to over 1,000 inquiries annually. The ConduITS Research Roadmap (RRM) was implemented in Q2 2019. The RRM is a web-based, interactive, real-time tool that provides MSHS researchers with navigation of the health system’s research operations, workflows, resources, and it embeds real-time and evolving regulatory guidance and best practices to provide the highest quality conduct of research at the MSHS. The RRM also provides a centralized, dedicated environment for ConduITS to communicate advances to the network of CTSA hubs across the nation. The ORS is leading the implementation of the institution’s system-wide clinical trials management system which further streamlines research study conduct, oversight and efficiency locally and remotely across an ever-expanding health system and collaborating institutions. 

Research 411 e-Portal – Research 411 is a centralized, electronic portal for general research help desk questions, information, request for services and consultations and the collection of metrics for program evaluation of quality and efficiency system-wide. It is built with JIRA software which allows the ORS team to track communications in centrally accessible message threads for continual cross-coverage of issues, increasing productivity and eliminating down-time. The program is customizable to allow for the creation of on-demand tickets for emerging topics. Additionally, the program provides information about the volume of incoming tickets in a specific area or topic. This information is then used by the ORS team to identify where there is a gap, bottleneck and/or need for education and training and provides the ability to spotlight issues and locate solutions (see Research Roadmap below). Since its inaugural year, Research 411 has processed over 5288 inquiries, in the areas of IRB, GCO, IND/IDE support, ClinicalTrials.gov, OnCore, Research Orientation, and for case-by-case queries requiring tailored support and guidance. 

Regulatory Support Knowledge Base (RSKB) – (self-serve support function) a feature of Research 411 is the ability to develop an organized repository of the solutions developed through the Research 411 portal. In essence, this becomes a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) self-help function of the ORS where research teams can access “articles” based on targeted solutions to issues local to MSHS, general best practices and knowledge gained from the questions and solutions provided through Research 411. Articles will be organized under categories and subcategories ensuring ease of use and search capability. The RSKB will improve efficiency and investigator productivity by eliminating the need to respond to redundant issues and providing instant access to solutions. The number of ORS developed RSKB articles, the volume of users accessing them and automated customer satisfaction surveys will be used as key performance measure when evaluating RSKB. 

Research Roadmap (RRM) – The Research Roadmap is a robust and comprehensive web-based, centralized tool developed by the ORS. The RRM, visually designed to function like an interactive subway map, has been developed to provide system-wide navigation of the many “pathways” of the MSHS research infrastructure and provides a “line” to the CTSA national network of resources. It is an interactive, dynamic, easy-to-use tool that provides the most current, streamlined, and efficient access to administrative processes, external regulatory requirements, internal policies, most current news, education, and training opportunities toward the conduct of the highest quality research. The RRM increases efficiency by providing information for parallel processing, monitoring of timelines, and review processes. Locally designed and built, the RRM is complementary to the Research 411 portal as a tangible, immediately accessible, and continuously available web-based tool and platform for the dissemination of the “tips” and “best practices” learned through the Research 411 portal. The RRM increases productivity time by reducing the discovery time for research teams to understand research methods and processes. Controlled by the ORS, the team can real-time post the newest modifications and news for the system. Dissemination of RRM improvements is provided by the ORS managed research listserv, and availability of local hub innovations and tools is provided through a dedicated “line” for the CTSA national network of hubs and the CTSA program. The location of solutions that are developed for gaps and bottlenecks in research systems is more efficiently pinpointed and communicated on the RRM. 

Clinical Trials Management System (OnCore) – ConduITS the Clinical & Translational Science Award at Mount Sinai received an administrative supplement from NCATS the NIH center that funds the CTSA program in August of 2018 to implement a system-wide Clinical Trials Management System (CTMS) “OnCore”. The Office of Research Services (ORS) within ConduITS is managing and supporting the expanded use of the CTMS. OnCore allows institution-wide reporting of clinical research metrics, compliant oversight in research regulatory and billing compliance, and centralize access to the ISMMS research portfolio conducted at the Mount Sinai Health System. The CTMS impacts rapid activation of clinical trials by enhanced protocol and informed consent life cycle management improving IRB approval duration and continuing renewal. Additionally, the CTMS’ reporting capabilities allows for the analysis of slow or non-recruiting studies for evaluation and improvement of initial recruitment plans or study closure. ORS has collaborated and helped limplement a new interface between the institution’s electronic IRB with OnCore. Next on the agenda is working towards integration the Electronic Health Record (Epic) with OnCore to send protocols with hospital billable services to Epic and the automatic flagging of patients as research participants for billing review and patient safety. 

If you have any questions or want to read about updates to the OnCore roll-out contact Research411 or go to The Research Roadmap

Last Update:  April 2026 

The Program for the Protection of Human Subjects (PPHS)

With full accreditation from the Association for the Accreditation of Human Research Protection Programs the Mount Sinai Health System's Human Research Protection Program is a comprehensive program to ensure the protection of the rights and welfare of subjects in Human Research. The Program for the Protection of Human Subjects (PPHS) is a key component of the overall HRPP.

The PPHS supports researchers throughout the Mount Sinai Health System in assuring the ethical conduct of research and compliance with federal, state and institutional regulations and provides a professional office staff to assist investigators, participants, and Institutional Review Boards (IRBs). In addition, the overall HRPP includes organizational, administrative, and investigator components, and is based on all individuals fulfilling their roles and responsibilities. Essential aspects of the overall mission of human subjects protection are provided by the organized interaction of the PPHS with the Financial Conflict of Interest Committee, the Financial Administration of Clinical Trials Office, Investigational Drug Services, The Office of Research Compliance, the Biosafety Program and the Radiation Safety Committee and CyberSecurity.

The PPHS is a signatory to the CTSA sponsored SMART IRB platform and uses it extensively when providing single IRB functions to investigators. The PPHS is posed to provide support whether we are the IRB of record or are a relying institution. 

The PPHS office offers support to investigators and their research teams through one-on-one scheduled meetings with IRB analysts to review individual applications and answer questions. The office also offers short presentations to groups, departments, or divisions on the human subjects research submission process by experienced IRB analysts. The PPHS office also offers assistance to researchers during business hours by phone, or through the general email address which is answered daily.

Visit or email the Protection of Human Subjects for more information.

Last Update: April 2026

REDCap 

REDCap (Research Electronic Data Capture) is a secure, HIPAA-compliant web-based application designed to support electronic data capture for research studies and has over 3,700 active Mount Sinai users. REDCap provides a simple point-and-click interface to create web-based data entry and case report forms with the ability to customize real-time data entry validation (e.g., for data types and range checks), maintain project audit trails, export project data to advanced statistical software packages, and assign different levels of data access for each member of the research team. REDCap also supports cross-sectional and longitudinal research studies, and the software is designed to align with federal and local regulatory policies and procedures. REDCap allows the host institution to define REDCap data security policies, data backup schedules, data retention plans, and involve necessary departments (e.g., Institutional Review Board) in the REDCap project creation process. The web application and database servers are housed in Mount Sinai’s secure data center and are subject to institutional policies on security, backup, recovery and control. Data collection tools developed within REDCap can be customized by the research team, with guidance from REDCap support staff at Mount Sinai, with this work being supported in part through Mount Sinai’s National Institutes of Health Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) funding. Data is captured by user-defined web-based forms and stored in dynamically maintained data tables. Fields can be added to the forms and to the tables used as the project progresses. REDCap provides audit trails for tracking data manipulation and user activity, as well as automated export procedures for seamless data downloads to Excel, PDF, and common statistical packages (including SPSS, SAS, Stata, and R). Additional features include a built-in project calendar, a scheduling module, and ad hoc reporting tools, as well as advanced features such as branching logic, file uploading, and calculated fields. In addition, REDCap plugins (Twilio and MyCap) are available for mobile based diary assessments and survey administration. 

Visit the REDCap website (https://redcap.mountsinai.org/redcap/) for more information. 

Last Updated: May 2026 

Responsible Conduct of Research 

All pre- and postdoctoral trainees of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences are required to complete training in Responsible Conduct of Research (Course Code: BSR1021). 

Format: BSR1021 classes consist of highly interactive lectures that present the subject material, augmented with case studies and videos provided by the NIH that form the basis for further discussion. In addition, one class on responsible publication, authorship and peer review is taught in the format of a panel discussion with Journal Editors and Study Section chairs.  

Subject Matter: The subject matter is divided into 9 classes with the following topics: 1) Introduction to RCR; research misconduct and policies for handling misconduct, ethical use of AI, and safe laboratory practices; 2) mentor/mentee responsibilities and relationships; 3) Laboratory Notebooks and Data Management; 4) responsible authorship, publication and peer review; 5) policies regarding human subjects, and live vertebrate animal subjects in research; 6) Contemporary Issues in Research Ethics; 7) collaborative research including collaborations with industry; conflict of interest – personal, professional, and financial;  8) The research misconduct review process and export controls; and 9) commercialization of research.  In August 2022, the following topics were included in response to NOT-OD-22-055: safe research environments (e.g., those that promote inclusion and are free of sexual, racial, ethnic, disability and other forms of discriminatory harassment); Collaboration with investigators in other countries; data analysis, image generation, electronic lab notebooks; secure and ethical data use and confidentiality.  

Faculty Participation: Each class is team taught by faculty with expertise in the relevant topics. The faculty deliver the lecture materials and lead the discussions. Each class is followed by a short quiz. The faculty include Drs: Janice Gabrilove (Mentor-Mentee relationships) Paul Cummins (Bioethicist); George Huntley (Ombuds, safe environments); Matthew O’Connell (Senior Assoc Dean for PhD programs, scientific misconduct, mentoring, AI, plagiarism; course director); Eric Sobie (Data Recording, archiving, electronic and conventional notebooks, public databases ); Martin Walsh, Robert Krauss, Patrick Hof and James Manfredi, Anne Bowcock, Nicole Dubois - (responsible and confidential publication/authorship/peer review); Paul Kenny (collaborations and conflicts, inc with Industry and foreign laboratories); Jonathan Cohen, Stacey Baker  (Vertebrate Animal Studies); Theodore Bania (IRB and Human research); Erik Lium and Dov Shamir (MSIP, commercialization); and Reginald Miller (ISMMS RIO). Additional faculty will be recruited as needed to accommodate the new topics. 

Duration: The course runs for a total of 9 hours over 4.5 weeks in the Fall semester. Attendance is mandatory. All trainees must retake the complete training after 4 years – (RCR Refresher, Course Code: BSR1023, Run in both Fall and Spring Semesters). 

Frequency: Twice per week (Monday and Wednesday) 

In addition, trainees are required to take a sister course, Rigor and Reproducibility (course code BSR 1022).  

Format: Same as RCR, BSR1021 

Subject Matter: The course is split into three areas: 1) R&R at the bench (Experimental Design; The scientific premise; use of controls; hypothesis testing; biological vs technical replicates; parallel and complementary approaches); 2) Human and animal experimental design and statistical analysis (IACUC and IRB requirements; power calculations; sex as a variable; other variables including genetics; design of clinical trials; statistical testing of hypotheses and reporting of methods); 3) Digital and Quantitative Data (Data management; big data issues; storage and back-up, use of public databases, metadata, digital image production, promoting reproduction by others).  

Faculty Participation: Again, team teaching for the three areas: 1) Matthew O’Connell and David Dominguez Sola; 2) Amaia Lujambio and Tom Marron; 3) Eric Sobie, and Evren U. Azeloglu. 

Duration: The course runs for a total of 8 hours over 4 weeks in the Spring semester. Attendance is mandatory.  

Frequency: Twice per week (Monday and Wednesday) 

Last Updated: April 2026

Mount Sinai has invested over $200 million into its research ecosystem, which includes scientific computing, informatics and data infrastructure, as well as human expertise and training. This substantial commitment by Mount Sinai tangibly demonstrates how a well-designed and managed supercomputing infrastructure can empower scientists and researchers in both productivity and effectiveness. Furthermore, this considerable holistic investment supports PhD-level operational and scientific computing staff along with essential hardware, software, and new computational and data facilities optimized for a significant scientific workload. Overall, the Scientific Computing division of Scientific Computing and Data (SCD) consists of High-Performance Computing and Mount Sinai Data Warehouse (MSDW). 

Mount Sinai also has significantly invested in the Minerva supercomputer and computing resources to support researchers using high-dimensional datasets. The Minerva supercomputer enables the efficient management of multiscale-omic databases, thereby helping to unlock the intricate mechanisms that lead to human diseases and accelerating the discovery of treatments. These scalable supercomputer resources are used for advanced machine-learning analysis of massive and varied datasets to create predictive models of disease, with over 20.0 petaflops of computational power (over 25,000 Intel compute cores and 408 NVIDIA graphic processing units [GPUs] and 32 petabytes of storage) available. Minerva is one of the world’s fastest supercomputers at an academic medical center, according to the November 2025 edition of the Top 500 list. 

Minerva, created in 2012 and upgraded several times, most recently in Nov. 2024 and Feb. 2026, utilizes 25,584 Intel Platinum in different generations including  2.1 GHz, 2.3 GHz, 2.6 GHz, and 2.9 GHz computing cores (112 cores or 96 cores or 64 cores or 48 cores per node with two sockets in each node) with 1.5 terabytes (TB) or 2 terabytes (TB) of memory per node, 408 graphical processing units (GPUs), including 48 Nvidia B200s, 236 Nvidia H100s, 32 Nvidia L40S, 44 Nvidia A100s, 48 Nvidia V100s, 452 TB of total memory, and 32 petabytes of spinning storage accessed via IBM’s Spectrum Scale/General Parallel File System (GPFS) for a total of 1.9 petaflops of central processing unit [CPU] peak compute power and 18.6 petaflops for GPU peak compute power. All the nodes are connected mainly via a Mellanox Next Data Rate (NDR) Infiniband fat tree fabric (400 Gb/s). Minerva ranks among the largest in academic medicine in the U.S. All nodes are scheduled with IBM’s load sharing facility (LSF). Minerva services include the MATLAB Distributed Computing Server, Posit connect and web and database services. An archival storage system (IBM’s Tivoli Storage Manager) encrypts and saves copies of data on tape to two geographically disparate locations. Over 2,000 applications are supported, and over 4,000 users are served at Mount Sinai and 600 external users, including many from Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) organizations and support many large consortia. The high-performance computing team has enabled over 2,100 publications that have utilized the Minerva ecosystem since 2012. 

A dedicated Scientific Computing staff aids and educates the user community on a regular basis and a team of domain-specific Ph.D. computational scientists with interdisciplinary expertise assist researchers in making efficient and effective use of Mount Sinai’s computing and data resources. These scientists lead basic and advanced training and accelerate the scientific discovery process by assisting with code development, optimization, and troubleshooting. They also conduct yearly surveys and actively solicit and respond to feedback. The Scientific Computing Advisory Board, comprised of early career and senior leadership at Mount Sinai, also provides guidance. 

NIH-Supported COVID and Translational Science (CATS) Supercomputer Upgrade 

The CATS grant was awarded in 2021 (1S10OD030463-01) to enable new kinds of scientific discoveries and translation related to the newly emerged COVID-19 pandemic. The new infrastructure, added to the Minerva supercomputer and supported by the CATS grant, entered production in 1Q22 consisting of 3,520 Intel cores, 82 terabytes of memory and 16 petabytes of raw storage. The resulting enhanced capabilities of the Minerva supercomputer supported by CATS will not only accelerate COVID-19 related research but will also shorten the time to solution and enable more complex biomedical analyses. 

Visit the Minerva website (https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/minervalab/ ) for more information. 

NIH-Supported AI Mount Sinai (AIMS) Supercomputer Upgrade 

The AIMS grant, awarded by the National Institutes of Health, was launched in February 2026 (S10OD038231-01) and supports a high-performance AI computing system. The platform includes 48 NVIDIA B200 GPUs distributed across six nodes, with eight NVLinked GPUs per node and a total of 9 TB of GPU memory. It is further powered by 672 Intel Xeon Platinum 8570 cores, along with 12 TB of system memory and 25 TB of NVMe storage per node and supports FP4 (4-bit) precision for near-exaflop AI inference performance. The resource is available to eligible NIH-funded GPU projects. 

Visit the Minerva website (https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/minervalab/ ) for more information. 

Data Ark Data Commons 

The Data Ark is a premier Mount Sinai institutional data commons resource built on the FAIR principles: making data Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable. By centralizing diverse public and Mount Sinai-generated datasets within the Minerva supercomputing environment, Data Ark removes the technical friction of fragmented data, allowing researchers to focus on high-impact discovery. 

The Data Ark team optimizes the research lifecycle by providing specialized services: 

• Data Curation: Downloading, organizing, web documenting. 

• Access Management: Streamlining the data access process and providing expert technical support for Sinai researchers. 

• Version Integrity: Ensuring that the most current versions of high-impact datasets are readily available and properly versioned. 

Currently, Data Ark hosts 17 datasets which are available to the Mount Sinai community without access restrictions. These include:

By providing a centralized repository, Data Ark eliminates the redundant and time-consuming tasks of locating and downloading data across research groups on Minerva. This integrated environment with Minerva high-performance computing allows researchers to bypass technical bottlenecks and focus on high-impact analysis, fostering a collaborative culture that enables the large-scale studies necessary to accelerate biomedical discovery. 

Visit the Data Ark website (https://labs.icahn.mssm.edu/minervalab/resources/data-ark/ ) for more information. 

Last Updated: April 2026