Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Regenerative medicine holds enormous promise to provide new therapies for diseases and to promote healthy aging. At the Institute for Regenerative Medicine, our collaborative teams of basic scientists, translational researchers, and clinicians are tackling these challenges at several levels. We aim to understand how stem cells function and are regulated, harness the power of stem cells to generate platforms for studying human disease and screening for new drugs, develop methods to correct gene mutations therapeutically, and generate tissues and organs for transplantation. Our researchers have made exciting discoveries, such as using human stem cell-derived mini brain tissue to identify mechanisms important in Alzheimer's disease and develop potential therapeutics.

As we look to the future, we recognize that most investigational therapies fail in the clinic, often because animal models do not fully recapitulate human physiology. To address this, the Institute is focusing on increasing our development and use of human stem cell in vitro models for understanding human-specific disease mechanisms and testing and screening for therapeutics. These models can be derived from patients themselves, allowing for the development and screening of drugs that will specifically work for that individual—an avatar for the patient in a dish.

We recognize and condemn the negative effects of social injustices, including racism, on our society in general and within the biomedical research community, and are committed to fostering a diverse, equitable, and inclusive environment within the Institute and more broadly in the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. We welcome all faculty, staff, and trainees with an interest in regenerative medicine to join the Institute for Regenerative Medicine and participate in our mission to make groundbreaking discoveries that improve human health.

Sarah E. Millar, PhD
Director, Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the Black Family Stem Cell Institute
Co-Associate Director, Skin Biology and Diseases Resource-based Center
Dean for Basic Science
Lillian and Henry M. Stratton Professor of Gene and Cell Medicine
Professor of Oncological Sciences, and Dermatology
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai