Institute for Health Equity Research

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.

The Institute for Health Equity Research at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai was established to study and understand the effects of health issues affecting at-risk communities, including those that are non-white, low-income, immigrant, uninsured, and LGBTQ+ across all ages, genders, and abilities. Our researchers 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 affect real-world policy, systems, and environments.

Since our inception in 2020, the Institute has grown tremendously, and received one of the first grants given by the National Institutes of Health to study how structural racism affects health, and the impact of health care segregation on processes and outcomes of care. Our team is also leading the national effort to ensure research on long COVID keeps a sharp lens on equity. Through our research and partnerships, we continue to build and implement innovative, durable solutions to achieve health equity.

Carol Horowitz, MD, MPH
Director, Institute for Health Equity Research
Dean for Gender Equity in Science and Medicine
Professor, Population Health Science and Policy, and Medicine (General Internal Medicine)
Icahn Mount Sinai

Lynne Richardson, MD
Co-Director, Institute for Health Equity Research
Mount Sinai Endowed Professor, Emergency Medicine and Health Equity Science, and Population Health Science and Policy, and Artificial Intelligence and Human Health
Icahn Mount Sinai