About | Icahn School of Medicine

In May 2020, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai established the Institute for Health Equity Research (IHER) to study and understand the effects of health issues, including COVID-19, affecting at-risk communities, including those that are non-white, low-income, immigrant, uninsured, and LGBTQ+ across all ages, genders and abilities. The disproportionate impact of COVID-19 in underserved populations has highlighted the importance of rigorously studying disparities, and translating discoveries into sustainable, scalable initiatives and policies that benefit communities in New York City and the nation. We study how systems have led to groups of individuals being disproportionately and unjustly impacted by inequitable policies and practices that lead to excesses in illness, suffering, and death. We work collaboratively with an extensive network of patients, providers, payers, policymakers, and industry leaders to produce discoveries that translate into sustainable, scalable initiatives that impact real-world policy, systems, and environments.

Directors Welcome

All too often, underserved and non-white populations are the very last to benefit from the latest advancements in science and medicine. In the aftermath of centuries of racist and discriminatory policies and practices, these same communities live shorter lives and bear a heavier burden of common diseases like high blood pressure, asthma, diabetes, cancer, mental illness, and COVID-19. The health of our patients and the communities we serve is critically important to us.

Health equity is the idea that everyone should have all of the resources needed to be healthy, including nutritious food, stable housing, safe places to play and exercise, good education, fair-paying jobs, clean air and water, quality health care, and freedom from exploitation and racism. Progress toward health equity requires that the myriad causes of health and health care disparities be understood and addressed.

IHER brings together a multidisciplinary team of experts to address the longstanding disparities in health and health care that are pervasive in our country. Our team conducts paradigm-shifting research to engage at-risk communities, facilitate access to life-changing resources, and inform life-saving interventions. It is only by learning from and with the people most affected by systemic inequities that we can shed light on health-related problems that disproportionately impact at-risk groups across disease areas, while factoring in race, ethnicity, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, poverty, and place of residence. This impactful work will amplify the voices of those who have been silenced by systems of oppression as we strive to ensure a more equitable future for all.