The Mount Sinai Health System has a rich history of innovation that began at our storied hospitals in New York City and continues to this day.
History
1820
The first cases of congenital cataracts are successfully operated on in the United States, restoring vision for three pediatric patients. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1855
The first hospital in the United States exclusively for women is founded, called The Woman’s Hospital in the State of New York. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1862
Henry Noyes, MD, is the first to photograph the retina of a living creature, a rabbit. This was the forerunner of all clinical retinal imaging that we rely on today for the management of retinopathy in diabetes and other macular diseases. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1884
Robert Abbe, MD, is the first to use radium therapy in the United States. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1886
Richard Hall, MD, performs early surgical removal of a perforated appendix, resulting in what is thought to have been the first survival of a patient in the United States after such a procedure. (Mount Sinai Roosevelt)
1887
John E. Weeks, MD, successfully inoculates one of his own eyes, which confirms the bacterium now known as the Koch-Weeks bacillus is the cause of an infectious form of conjunctivitis. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1887
Bernard Sachs, MD, notes the characteristic cellular changes occurring in people with Tay-Sachs disease, a rare inherited disorder that progressively destroys nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1888
The first total removal of an unequivocal brain tumor in the United States is performed by Robert F. Weir, MD. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1890
The first otolaryngology resident training program in the United States is created through the founding of The School of Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology, chartered by the State Legislature. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1892
The first mastoidectomy in the United States, one of the most significant events in skull-based surgery, is performed by Emil Gruening, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1892
The Syms Operating Theater, one of the earliest theaters designed for aseptic surgery, is opened and is internationally hailed as a model for such theaters. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1893
Charles McBurney, MD, originates the classic diagnostic point for acute appendicitis, henceforth known as ‘McBurney’s point.’ He further develops the ‘muscle-splitting’ incision for appendectomy, which becomes the universal standard. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1897
Thomas L. Bennett, MD, introduces the Bennett inhaler, for many years considered standard equipment in anesthesia administration. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1900
Joseph O’Dwyer, MD, devises the endotracheal tube, used to treat patients with laryngeal diphtheria to provide relief of an airway obstruction. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1901
The first abdominal colectomy for colitis in the United States is performed by Howard Lilienthal, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1908
The concept of the ‘universal blood donor’ is established by Reuben Ottenberg, MD, who is the first to note that human blood groups are inherited. He is the first to publish mention of using a blood test for compatibility before human blood transfusion. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1910
A positive-pressure anesthesia machine is developed by Charles Elsberg, MD, who is the first to apply the method clinically, allowing surgeons to open the chest without deflating the lungs for the first time. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1910
The first continuously running Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation in the United States is founded. The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1910
Hans Zinsser, MD, coauthors Zinsser Microbiology, a classic reference book about the basic scientific principles that determine how infectious agents interact with humans. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1910
Karl Connell, MD, a pioneer in anesthesiology, creates the Connell anaesthetometer, the first apparatus for accurate delivery of ether, and later invents the gas mask, used during World War I. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1910
Nathan E. Brill, MD, discovers Brill’s disease (later known as Brill-Zinsser disease), a type of recurrent typhus. Then, in a 1925 study, Brill and fellow scientists describe a form of lymphoma now known as Brill-Symmers disease. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1915
Richard Lewisohn, MD, paves the way for modern blood banking after publishing a description of the citrate method of preserving blood, allowing blood to be stored for later transfusion and making indirect transfusion possible and practical. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1922
The first gastrectomy in the United States for peptic ulcer disease is performed by A. A. Berg, MD. The procedure is still used today. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1929
The first successful cardiac exercise stress test is developed by Arthur M. Master, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1931
The first Intravenous Therapy Department in the United States is established. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1932
The first description of what is known today as Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory disease of the intestine, is published by Burrill B. Crohn, MD, Leon Ginzburg, MD, and Gordon D. Oppenheimer, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1936
The first course of orthoptic training is established by Conrad Berens, MD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1938
The hospital’s first blood bank is established and becomes a model for other hospitals around the country. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1939
The hospital acquires the first laminagraph in New York State, an X-ray machine that makes radiography of body tissue possible at any desired length. At the time, St. Lukes’ machine is one of only nine in the United States and 14 in the world. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1941
Condict W. Cutler Jr., MD, organizes the Catastrophe Unit (also known as the Disaster Unit), the first of its kind in a New York City voluntary hospital, providing rapid placement of doctors and nurses at the scene of any civilian catastrophe or destructive enemy action. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1945
Clinical audiology is introduced for returning World War II veterans experiencing service-connected hearing deficits. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1945
The classic text, Hunter’s Tropical Medicine, is published nearly 30 years after the death of Thomas T. Mackie, MD, coauthor of the original inspiration A Manual of Tropical Medicine. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1947
The first kidney dialysis in the United States is performed by Alfred P. Fishman, MD, Irving G. Kroop, MD, and H. Evans Leiter, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1949
Jacob Churg, MD, and Lotte Strauss, MD, present a description of allergic granulomatosis, known as Churg-Strauss syndrome, an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of blood vessels in persons with a history of airway allergic hypersensitivity. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1950
The Thompson Vitallium Hip Prosthesis is created by Frederick Röeck Thompson, MD. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1951
Doctors develop a treatment for frostbite using Heparin tablets, lessening the morbidity and mortality among United States troops in Korea. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
1951
One of the earliest units for hand injury treatment, now known as The CV Starr Hand Surgery Center, is established by J. William Littler, MD, who is widely acclaimed for developing techniques for restoring function and sensation to injured fingers and wrists. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1952
Evidence that an enzyme can inhibit acid secretion is discovered by Henry D. Janowitz, MD, Henry Colcher, MD, and Franklin Hollander, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1955
A treatment of tuberculosis using segmental pulmonary resection is developed by J. Maxwell Chamberlain, MD, and becomes universally adopted, representing a major step forward in the development of the specialty of thoracic surgery. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1956
The first open-heart repair of a septal defect in New York City is performed by Hugh Fitzpatrick, MD. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1959
The field of molecular biology is advanced by Leonard Ornstein, PhD, and Baruch Davis, MD, who develop a technique using polyacrylamide gels to separate biological molecules. Gel electrophoresis and related techniques become the basis for a wide range of biochemical methods, including DNA sequencing. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1960
One of the first Intensive Care Units opens in New York City. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1960
The first drug developed to lower cholesterol is discovered by Theodore VanItallie, MD, and Sami Hashim, MD, to treat hypercholesterolemia and primary biliary cirrhosis. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1962
The Rh system nomenclature, an important blood group system, is established by Richard E. Rosenfield, MD, and is still used today. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1963
The New York State Board of Regents grants a charter to The Mount Sinai Hospital to create what becomes the Mount Sinai School of Medicine; a separate but overlapping Board of Trustees for the School is created.
1964
Harvey Weiss, MD, initiates the Division of Histology, and becomes a world-renowned leader in platelet research. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1964
A description of how asbestos can cause cancerous changes in the DNA of cells is demonstrated by Irving Selikoff, MD, Jacob Churg, MD, and E. Cuyler Hammond, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1965
Irving Schwartz, MD, is appointed the first Dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (formerly known as Mount Sinai Graduate School of Biological Sciences).
1965
Clinical trials begin to prove the efficacy of methadone treatment. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
1967
The School of Medicine affiliates with The City University of New York.
1967
First Faculty Assembly held; there are approximately 1,200 faculty members of MSSM, including 500 in the Professor, Associate Professor, or Assistant Professor ranks.
1967
Genetics is established as the first PhD training program in the Graduate School. Dr. Hirschhorn receives a grant award to fund the first Genetics program to be a pre- and post-doctoral training program.
1968
First students admitted to MSSM: a first-year class with 36 students with four women and a third-year class with 23 students also starts.
1968
First Mount Sinai School of Medicine class includes 19 graduate students. First PhD degrees are offered in 14 subject areas, including genetics, pharmacology, physiology, and cell biology.
1968
A Health Careers Program for Disadvantaged Youth is begun in the Department of Nursing. It merges with the Department of Community Medicine Student Health Opportunity Program in 1973 to form SETH, which in 1975 becomes the Center for Excellence in Youth Education (CEYE).
1968
The School holds a formal ceremony at the Great Hall at City College; MSSM is dedicated and George James, MD, is inaugurated as the first Dean and President. Four Nobel Laureates included in a daytime colloquium: George W. Beadle, Francis Crick, Sir Peter Medawar, and Linus Pauling.
1969
The first genetically engineered vaccine, an influenza vaccine, is created by Edwin Kilbourne, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1969
The first fiber-optic endoscopy is performed by William I. Wolff, MD, and Hiromi Shinya, MD. Surgeons later develop a wire loop that allows doctors to endoscopically remove polyps during a colonoscopy, advancing the procedure to its modern form. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
1969
The first autorefractor is invented, a machine that automatically determines the correct lens prescription for the eyes, by Aran Safir, MD, who later refines the device at The Mount Sinai Hospital. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1969
The development of ultrasound and ultrasound equipment is pioneered by Lajos von Micksy, MD. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1969
Improved surgical techniques for cervical spine fusion result from biomechanical studies on instability of the upper cervical spine done by J. William Fielding, MD, and George Van B. Cochran, MD. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1969
Operative hysteroscopy is introduced by Robert Neuwirth, MD, which removes fibroids through the vagina by adapting a urologic resectoscope. e vagina by adapting a urologic resectoscope. e vagina by adapting a urologic resectoscope. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1970
Richard McCray, MD, performs what is thought to be the first endoscopic gastric biopsy in the United States, a minimally invasive procedure that removes stomach tissue for examination. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1970
MSSM graduates first class of 23 students.
1971
First MD/PhD Program students admitted.
1971
The antiplatelet benefits of aspirin are discovered by Harvey Weiss, MD, which leads to the use of aspirin as an agent in the prevention of heart attack and stroke. (Roosevelt Hospital)
1971
A fundamental first step toward the development of less toxic cancer therapies is made by Charlotte Friend, PhD, who demonstrates that dimethyl sulfoxide can induce cancer cells to progress or differentiate to a normal pattern of development. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1972
First commencement of graduates who had spent all four years at MSSM.
1973
First classes are held in the Annenberg Building; dedicated in 1974 with Vice President Gerald Ford as principal speaker.
1974
The first ever hysteroscopic resection of uterine submucus myomas is performed by Robert Neuwirth, MD. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1975
The first hospital-based hospice program in the United States is established. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1977
Rosalyn Yalow, PhD, wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the development of radioimmunoassay, a very sensitive in vitro assay technique used to measure substances such as viruses, drugs, or hormone levels in the blood, which made it possible to screen blood donations given by donors. Her work was done in partnership with Solomon Berson, MD, Chair of Medicine, who died before the Nobel Prize was awarded.
1977
The Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) officially begins with a T32 grant from NIH. Terry Krulwich is the first MSTP Director.
1977
A rape intervention program is established and goes on to serve as a model for other programs around the country. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
1977
The largest methadone maintenance treatment program in the United States is established. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
1977
Rosalyn Yalow, PhD, wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for the development of radioimmunoassay, a very sensitive in vitro assay technique used to measure substances such as viruses, drugs, or hormone levels in the blood, which made it possible to screen blood donations given by donors. Her work was done in partnership with Solomon Berson, MD, Chair of Medicine, who died before the Nobel Prize was awarded. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1977
Platinum is used as a chemotherapy drug for the treatment of cancer for the first time in the United States by Howard Bruckner, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1979
The first digital A-scan ultrasound system used to measure the eye for intraocular lens implantation, which improves visual outcomes after cataract surgery, is developed by Richard S. Koplin, MD, and Martin Gersten, MD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1979
The Medical School and Department of Medicine develop a leading program in Humanistic Medicine that is to be filmed for use in medical schools throughout the country. Film: “A Complicating Factor.”
1981
Terry Krulwich, PhD, becomes Dean of the Graduate School—the first woman Dean at Mount Sinai. She serves until 2002.
1981
The efficacy of mercaptopurine for Crohn's disease is demonstrated by Daniel Present, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1981
Beth Israel doctors are among the first to recognize AIDS as a new disease, and the hospital is an early leader in the care of this patient population. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
1982
The first academic department of geriatrics is established in the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, a catalyst for the way the subject is taught in American medicine. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1983
The first use of cholinesterase inhibitors to treat Alzheimer's disease and improve cognition is developed by a group of scientists led by Kenneth L. Davis, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1986
‘Zona drilling,’ an in vitro fertilization technique that helps sperm cells to penetrate egg cells, is developed by Jon Gordon, MD, and Beth E. Talansky, PhD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1987
The first computerized corneal topographic mapping device is invented by Virginia L. Lubkin, MD, Dennis J. Gormley, MD, Martin Gersten, MD, and Richard S. Koplin, MD. The noninvasive medical imaging technique has proven critical to the preoperative evaluation for laser vision correction (LASIK) surgery. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1987
Humanities and Medicine Program is created to attract liberal arts students to careers in medicine.
1988
A study establishes that patients needing clot busting should be treated in the field with paramedic-administered, prehospital thrombolysis for acute myocardial infarction, rather than in the emergency department, as found by Henry Greenberg, MD, and Mark Sherrid, MD. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
1988
The first liver transplant in New York State is performed by a team led by Charles M. Miller, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1988
The first use of colchicine to treat ulcerative colitis is demonstrated by Samuel Meyers, MD, Henry D. Janowitz, MD, Vivek V. Gumaste, MD, Ruth G. Abramson, MD, L. J. Berman, MD, Venkata S. Venkataseshan, MD, and Steven H. Dickman, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1988
The Gustave L. Levy Acute Stroke Unit is the first acute stroke unit created in a hospital in New York State. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1989
MSSM first uses simulated patients to test clinical practice skills of students; later, the Morchand Center opens in 1991.
1989
Endoscopic sinus surgery is pioneered in part by Steven D. Schaefer, MD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1990
Global endometrial ablation using thermal balloons for the treatment of menstrual bleeding is developed by Robert Neuwirth, MD. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
1991
A certificate program in Genetic Counseling begins. In 1996, it becomes a Master’s of Science in Genetic Counseling degree program.
1991
The gene for Marfan’s disease is discovered by Francesco Ramirez, DSc, and team. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1992
Exendin-4, a peptide that stimulates the release of insulin from beta cells in the pancreas, is discovered by John Eng, MD, and has since helped millions of patients control their diabetes and prevent its complications, such as blindness, kidney failure, and nerve damage. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1992
The first commercial transscleral laser probe for repairing retinal tears and detachments is developed with assistance from Richard Rosen, MD, and Thomas Muldoon, MD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1992
The first minimally invasive abdominal aortic aneurysm repair in the United States is performed by Michael L. Marin, MD, who later performs the world’s first minimally invasive repair of popliteal, iliac artery, and ruptured abdominal aneurysms. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1993
The first pediatric living donor liver transplant in New York State is successfully performed by Charles Miller, MD, Director of the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute, and team. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1993
The first papers on Emergency Department (ED) overcrowding and ED architectural design are published by ED faculty and staff. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
1993
Infants and children are uniquely sensitive to pesticides and other toxic chemicals in the environment and therefore require special protections in law and regulation, as established in a National Academy of Sciences report by its lead author, Philip Landrigan, MD, MSc. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1993
For the first time, MSSM graduates more women than men, a first in NY State.
1994
Different types of atherosclerosis plaques are classified for the first time by Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD. The classifications are adapted by the American Heart Association (AHA), of which Dr. Fuster is a former Board Member. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1994
Findings on a rare congenital bleeding disorder caused by a defect in a platelet mechanism required for blood coagulation are published by Harvey Weiss, MD, who later names the disorder “Scott syndrome.” (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
1994
Demonstration that antiretroviral treatment can prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission is reported in the international ACTG 076 study, led by Rhoda Sperling, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1995
Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus to treat Parkinson’s disease is used for the first time in the New York region. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1995
Laser therapy is demonstrated as a safe and effective alternative to eye drops as a first-line treatment for patients with newly diagnosed primary open-angle glaucoma by Robert Ritch, MD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
1995
An ultrasound-guided technique to treat prostate cancer by inserting radioactive seeds into the prostate is developed by Richard Stock, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1995
The Mount Sinai School of Medicine Consortium for Graduate Medical Education (GME) is established.
1996
The first hospital-based birthing center in New York City opens. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
1996
East Building (today’s Icahn Medical Institute) opens.
1996
First Annual Student Research Day.
1998
Physician order entry records are 100 percent computerized, making the hospital the first in New York City to provide this level of enhanced safety to patients. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
1998
The first approved treatment for mucositis, a side effect of chemotherapy, is developed after Stuart Aaronson, MD, clones ERBB2 and isolates Keratinocyte Growth Factor, now marketed as Palifermin or Kepivance. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1998
First White Coat Ceremony for first-year medical students.
1999
The School changes academic affiliation to New York University.
1999
The first multivisceral transplant (stomach, small intestine, pancreas, and liver) in New York State is led by Thomas Fishbein, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
1999
The Skin of Color Center, the first of its kind in the United States, is established to advance treatment, clinical research, and education for dermatologic conditions prevalent among patients of color. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
1999
The Center to Advance Palliative Care is created and catalyzes the growth and development of palliative care in American hospitals. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2000
The hospital participates in the first North American clinical trial to test the use of robotics in coronary artery bypass surgery. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
2000
The first black blood MRI is developed by Zahi A. Fayad, PhD, in collaboration with Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD. The noninvasive imaging technique causes blood to appear dark while vessel walls appear bright, allowing cardiologists to identify thickening of the artery wall, indicating otherwise undetectable vulnerable or high-risk plaque. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2001
Bruce Gelb, MD, claims the first gene discovery for the class of genetic traits now called the RASopathies (Noonan syndrome and related disorders). (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2001
The hospital is the first to offer cryosurgery for prostate cancer in Manhattan. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
2001
A collaborative international study shows that bilateral internal mammary artery grafting can be performed as safely as single internal mammary artery grafting, which helps to establish the hospital as one of the foremost centers utilizing bilateral internal mammary artery grafting in coronary revascularization. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2001
The first robotic radical prostatectomy in Manhattan using minimally invasive robotic surgery is performed by the prostate cancer team within the Berger Department of Urology. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
2001
Mount Sinai receives one of the first NIGMS grant awards to fund a Postbaccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) designed to prepare post-baccalaureate graduates from underrepresented groups in biomedical science with the necessary knowledge and skills to pursue PhD degrees in biomedical sciences.
2001
Institute for Medical Education is established.
2003
The Master’s program in Community Medicine is converted into a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree.
2003
The School organizes the first East Harlem neighborhood walking tour as part of first-year orientation for medical students.
2003
The FDA approves the drug Fabrazyme, developed by Robert Desnick, MD, David Bishop, PhD, and Yiannis Ioannou, PhD, to treat individuals suffering from Fabry disease, a rare but devastating metabolic condition. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2004
The Graduate School creates a new degree, the Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences.
2004
The East Harlem Health Outreach Partnership (EHHOP) clinic is created by the students of MSSM. The goal is to provide high-quality primary and preventative health care at no cost to uninsured residents of East Harlem.
2004
Nurses achieve Magnet Award designation, the first of several designations that underscore their dedication to patient care and nursing excellence. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary and Mount Sinai Queens later receive this designation as well. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2005
The first successful composite tracheal transplant, a composite of a donor trachea with the patient’s own tracheal linings, is performed by Eric Genden, MD, and team, using a method developed at Mount Sinai that allows patients to ultimately breathe and speak without a tracheotomy. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2005
Risk scores used to predict 30-day mortality after cardiac surgery can also be used to predict long-term mortality after valve surgery, as researchers are among the first to show. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2005
MSSM creates a Center for Global Health to focus on the “needs of underserved populations, both at home and abroad.”
2005
Reconstruction of the pathogenicity of the extinct but deadly 1918 pandemic influenza virus is completed by Adolfo García-Sastre, PhD, Chris Basler, PhD, and Peter Palese, PhD, leading to a fuller understanding of other strains, including the 2009 H1N1 virus. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2006
The seasonal FluMist vaccine is manufactured as a result of Peter Palese, PhD, and Adolfo García-Sastre, PhD, licensing their plasmid rescue technology. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2006
Researchers demonstrate for the first time that after coronary bypass surgery, women have different risk factors for long-term mortality than men, highlighting important gender differences in long-term outcomes after cardiac surgery. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2006
Researchers demonstrate that in certain Parkinson's populations genetics plays an important role, determining that one mutation in the LRRK2 gene is responsible for more than 18 percent of Parkinson’s disease in Ashkenazi Jews, as found by a team led by Susan Bressman, MD. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
2007
The first accredited simulation center in Manhattan opens and becomes the first to establish a simulation fellowship in New York State. It is among fewer than 50 centers accredited by the Society for Simulation in Health Care in the United States. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2007
The first laser robotic surgery for head and neck cancer in the United States is performed by Eric Genden, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2007
The Graduate School begins offering a new PhD program in Neuroscience in addition to the PhD program in Biomedical Sciences.
2008
INSPIRE program is launched (Individual Scholarly Project and Independent Research Experience), for fourth-year students.
2009
The PhD in Clinical Research program enrolls its first students.
2009
MSSM is named the recipient of the 2009 AAMC Spencer Foreman Award for Outstanding Community Service. According to the AAMC standards, this award “highlights community service as an important element of the academic mission, and singles out institutions that can serve as examples of social responsiveness on the part of the academic medical community.”
2009
THAP1, a protein coding gene, is identified as an important cause of early-onset primary dystonia. Other mutations in different populations (in addition to the THAP1 founder mutation in Amish Mennonites) are also identified, providing proof of many different mutations existing in the same gene. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
2009
Faculty demonstrate that using a frozen section procedure is an effective technique that produces clean and definite tumor-free margins in the eyelids after surgery. This approach shortens the procedure time, resulting in improved eyelid reconstruction results both functionally and cosmetically. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2009
David Adams, MD, coinvents and is the first to implant the Carpentier-Edwards Physio II Annuloplasty Ring, which is now the benchmark mitral valve repair ring in the world. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2009
Radiation-related maculopathy and optic neuropathy after eye cancer are minimized with periodic treatment with vascular endothelial growth-factor inhibitors, as discovered by Paul Finger, MD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
2009
Beth Israel is named the first Center of Excellence by the Bachmann-Strauss Dystonia & Parkinson Foundation. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
2010
The first model of heart disease using human induced pluripotent stem cells is created by Ihor Lemischka, PhD, and Bruce Gelb, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2010
Robert Ritch, MD, finds that acupuncture can be used to remedy “lazy eye” in certain cases as an alternative to eye patches for older children with this vision problem, which is clinically known as anisometropic amblyopia. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
2010
Standardized definitions for measuring the degree of bleeding in cardiovascular trials are developed by Roxana Mehran, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2010
Researchers publish on the use of computed tomography (CT) in the Emergency Department (ED), sparking a movement to recognize and address the increase of CT use in EDs. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2010
Roger Hajjar, MD, conducts the first clinical trial of SERCA2a gene therapy in humans, showing that this first-of-its-kind gene therapy is safe and effective in patients with advanced heart failure. This trial paves the way for new trials in cardiovascular gene therapy. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2010
The Middle States Commission grants MSSM initial accreditation to be a free-standing accredited body and to grant its own degrees. In conjunction with earlier New York State approval, all MSSM degrees will now just say Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
2010
The first Mount Sinai School of Medicine Postdoctoral Symposium is held with Harold Varmus as speaker.
2011
More than 40 percent of World Trade Center first responders have persistent abnormalities in pulmonary function as a consequence of their service, as established by Juan Wisnivesky, MD, and Philip Landrigan, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2011
The first randomized controlled trial showing efficacy of simulation-based training in sterile techniques during central line insertion in the Medical Intensive Care Unit reveals decreased central line infection and improved clinical outcomes. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2011
The understanding of the relationship between heart failure and memory loss is advanced through a study led by Joanne R. Festa, PhD, finding that older patients are more likely to have cognitive decline than younger patients with a similar low left ventricular ejection fraction. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2012
The Hess Building is opened.
2012
Researchers describe a tailored approach to mitral valve repair using anterior leaflet plication in the surgical treatment of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). This and related original research help to establish the hospital as a center of expertise in HOCM surgery. (St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital)
2012
MSSM rolls out a high-speed computing system called Minerva.
2012
The FREEDOM trial, a first-of-its-kind, long-term, worldwide clinical research study at 115 institutions, led by Principal Investigator Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, finds that individuals who have diabetes and advanced coronary artery disease live longer and are less likely to suffer a non-fatal heart attack when treated with coronary artery bypass graft surgery instead of angioplasty. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2013
The first studies to describe how viruses can be engineered to exclusively replicate in distinct settings, with particular application to vaccine manufacturing and biocontainment respectively, are done by a group of researchers led by Benjamin tenOever, PhD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2013
Faculty publish on the long-lasting effects of migraine headaches on the brain’s structure, concluding that chronic migraine and tension-type headaches are associated, at varying levels, with low mental health-related quality of life, high mental vulnerability, depression, and neuroticism. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
2013
The first-ever gene test to identify patients with cirrhosis who are at highest risk of developing the most common type of liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, is developed by Josep Llovet, MD, and Yujin Hoshida, MD, PhD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2013
A major study finds that live music provides health benefits to premature babies, including slowing the heartbeat, calming breathing, improving sucking behaviors important for feeding, aiding sleep, and promoting states of quiet alertness. (Beth Israel Medical Center)
2013
The Gustave L. Levy Acute Stroke Unit becomes the first in New York State to receive advanced certification as a Comprehensive Stroke Center from the Joint Commission, with the ability to provide care for the full range of complex stroke patients. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2013
The discovery that a novel gene, GNAL, causes adult onset dystonia results from the collaboration between the lab of Laurie Ozelius, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and a clinical research team led by Susan Bressman, MD, Mount Sinai Beth Israel. This finding points to pathways in the brain’s dopamine system as the origin of pathophysiology. (The Mount Sinai Hospital - Beth Israel Medical Center)
2013
The School is renamed Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in honor of Trustee Carl Icahn.
2013
The Mount Sinai Health System is announced, with the Icahn School and seven affiliated hospitals.
2014
Icahn School announces new Master of Science program in Health Care Delivery Leadership; the School’s first online course.
2014
Staph and strep infections account for 95 percent of endophthalmitis, a potentially blinding condition that occurs after eye trauma, eye surgery, and eye injections, as discovered by Ronald Gentile, MD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
2014
Darrick Antell, MD, is the first in his field to document the way identical twins can be affected by environmental factors, finding that lifestyle choices, especially sun exposure and smoking, exert more effect on physical aging than genetic influences. His research is featured in The Human Genome Exhibit, a display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC, between 2014 and 2018. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
2014
An inexpensive glaucoma drug can preserve and actually restore vision, when added to a weight-loss plan, for women who develop a blinding disorder linked to obesity, as found by a National Institutes of Health-funded study led by Mark Kupersmith, MD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
2014
David Adams, MD, coleads the Medtronic CoreValve U.S. Pivotal trial showing minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) is superior to surgical aortic valve replacement at one year in high-risk patients with severe stenosis. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2014
Sami Hashim, MD, and Theodore VanItallie, MD, publish a landmark study on the ketogenic diet and the oral administration of ketone ester, which may provide a safe, convenient, and versatile new approach to the study and potential treatment of a variety of diseases, including epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson's disease. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
2014
The first American series of autologous temporalis fascia transplants to the vocal fold are performed by Michael J. Pitman, MD, to restore the voice in patients with scarred vocal folds. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)
2014
The first miniature, leadless cardiac pacemaker implanted directly inside a patient’s heart without surgery is completed by Vivek Reddy, MD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2014
A new technique for administering ketamine, a drug that can effectively treat depression in a matter of hours, demonstrates that it can be rapidly effective in reversing suicidal thoughts, as found by researchers led by Dennis S. Charney, MD, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2014
Peter Palese, PhD, leads the development of a universal flu vaccine to be tested by the National Institutes of Health. If proven effective in a clinical trial, the vaccine could provide future protection against seasonal influenza viruses, eliminating the need for the yearly flu shot. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2014
Jeffrey Olin, MD, offers the first description of fibromuscular dysplasia, a noninflammatory vascular disease that can cause narrowing of the carotid and renal arteries, which can result in headaches, strokes, and aneurysms. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2015
The Kidney Stone Center opens, offering state-of-the-art, comprehensive medical and surgical treatment for stone disease with a focus on prevention. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2015
A research team shows for the first time that long-term survival after mitral valve replacement in patients ages 50 to 69 is not affected by choice of mechanical or bioprosthetic valve. (St. Luke’s Hospital)
2015
The first NeuroPace responsive neurostimulator for uncontrolled epilepsy is placed by Saadi Ghatan, MD, and his team in a 14-year-old child, the youngest patient in the nation to receive the device. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2015
Master’s in Biostatistics program begins.
2016
A set of 13 genes that can accurately predict whether a transplanted kidney will develop fibrosis is identified by Barbara Murphy, MD, and colleagues. Dr. Murphy’s lab also pinpoints genetic signatures in the blood that can more sensitively identify patients with rejection inflammation of the graft, and several novel mediators of fibrosis in the allograft.
2016
The Postdoctoral Executive Committee at the Icahn School is the recipient of the National Postdoctoral Association 2017 Distinguished Service Award.
2016
The first organ transplant from an HIV+ donor to an HIV+ recipient in New York State, and the second in the United States, is led by Sander Florman, MD, and Susan Lerner, MD, at the Recanati/Miller Transplantation Institute. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2017
In a study of early-stage lung adenocarcinoma, researchers led by Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, discover that immune cells start to be dysfunctional very early during tumor formation, suggesting that immunotherapy can be effective much earlier than currently believed.
2017
An “immune map” of the cells and cytokines involved in the development of atopic dermatitis is created by Emma Guttman, MD, PhD, leading to FDA approval of a breakthrough treatment for the condition. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2017
Immune cells start to be dysfunctional very early during tumor formation, suggesting that immunotherapy can be effective much earlier than currently believed, researchers led by Miriam Merad, MD, PhD, show. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2017
Mount Sinai spins out its genetic testing laboratories into a new for-profit company, Sema4, aiming to revolutionize clinical diagnostics. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2018
Normal immune cells called macrophages help early breast cancer cells move to other parts of the body, potentially creating metastasis before a tumor has even developed, researchers led by Julio Aguirre-Ghiso, PhD, find. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2018
Two strains of human herpesvirus are found in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s disease at levels up to twice as high as in those without Alzheimer’s, as shown by Joel Dudley, PhD, and Samuel Gandy, MD, PhD. (The Mount Sinai Hospital)
2018
Vision in mice is restored through activating retinal stem cells, something that has never been done before, by a team led by Bo Chen, PhD. (New York Eye and Ear Infirmary)