PHYSICIAN-SCIENTISTS UNDERREPRESENTED IN MEDICINE TO CONDUCT HEALTH EQUITY RESEARCH AT MONTEFIORE AND EINSTEIN

New $1.5 Million National Institutes of Health Grant Will Support Nine Trainee Researchers Focused on Heart, Lung, Blood, and Sleep Disorders

NEW YORK, Feb. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Montefiore Health System and Albert Einstein College of Medicine have been awarded a $1.5 million National Institutes of Health grant to provide advanced research training to post-graduate trainees from groups that are underrepresented in medicine and have research interests in heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders. Over five years, nine researchers will receive intense research training and robust mentorship from almost 30 established, senior investigators across Montefiore and Einstein.

"This competitive grant enables us to recruit and train the next generation of diverse researchers who are dedicated to addressing health inequities in our community and across the country," said Marina Reznik, M.D., M.S., principal investigator, vice chair for clinical and community-based research at the Children's Hospital at Montefiore and professor of pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

The grant will support trainees as they investigate health inequities ? preventable differences in health outcomes experienced by socially disadvantaged populations ? in the Bronx where residents have high rates of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, asthma, HIV/AIDS, and infant mortality. The research projects conducted by the nine investigators will aim to understand and reduce these inequities.

The mentorship offered by scientists at Montefiore and Einstein will enhance trainee knowledge and skills in research, provide essential career development skills, such as presentation and grant-writing techniques, and build a solid foundation for their future research. The trainees will have the opportunity to earn a Master of Science degree through Einstein's Clinical Research Training Program, a two-year intensive program that combines a mentored research experience with coursework designed for those pursuing a career in investigator-initiated, hypothesis-driven clinical research. The trainees will also participate in the Biomedical Science Leadership Program, a training program for postdoctoral fellows and senior graduate students that includes courses and workshops that foster skills in a range of areas, including communications, leadership and management, personal resiliency and emotional intelligence, cultural competency, course design, grantsmanship, and career management.

"By offering this advanced training opportunity to individuals from diverse backgrounds we aim to increase the number of researchers underrepresented in medicine who pursue academic careers in research and, at the same time, help them uncover meaningful solutions for people experiencing health inequities," said Carmen R. Isasi, M.D., Ph.D., principal investigator and professor of epidemiology & population health and of pediatrics at Einstein.

The T32 Training Program is titled "Purposeful Outreach for Diversity and Inclusion of Underrepresented in Medicine (PODIUM) Physician-Scientists" (1T32HL172255-01) and is intended to support training of postdoctoral trainees at Montefiore and Einstein, institutions uniquely positioned to engage minority and other health disparity populations in research, translation, and implementation of research advances that impact health outcomes, as well as provide health care for these populations.

About Montefiore Health System
Montefiore Health System is one of New York's premier academic health systems and is a recognized leader in providing exceptional quality and personalized, accountable care to approximately three million people in communities across the Bronx, Westchester and the Hudson Valley. It is comprised of 10 hospitals, including the Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and more than 200 outpatient ambulatory care sites. The advanced clinical and translational research at its medical school, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, directly informs patient care and improves outcomes. From the Montefiore-Einstein Centers of Excellence in cancer, cardiology and vascular care, pediatrics, and transplantation, to its preeminent school-based health program, Montefiore is a fully integrated healthcare delivery system providing coordinated, comprehensive care to patients and their families. For more information, please visit www.montefiore.org. Follow us on Twitter and view us on Facebook and YouTube.

About Albert Einstein College of Medicine 
Albert Einstein College of Medicine is one of the nation's premier centers for research, medical education and clinical investigation. During the 2023-24 academic year, Einstein is home to 737 M.D. students, 209 Ph.D. students, 124 students in the combined M.D./Ph.D. program, and approximately 239 postdoctoral research fellows. The College of Medicine has more than 2,000 full-time faculty members located on the main campus and at its clinical affiliates. In 2023, Einstein received more than $192 million in awards from the National Institutes of Health. This includes the funding of major research centers at Einstein in cancer, aging, intellectual development disorders, diabetes, clinical and translational research, liver disease, and AIDS. Other areas where the College of Medicine is concentrating its efforts include developmental brain research, neuroscience, cardiac disease, and initiatives to reduce and eliminate ethnic and racial health disparities. Its partnership with Montefiore, the University Hospital and academic medical center for Einstein, advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. For more information, please visit einsteinmed.edu, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and view us on YouTube.

SOURCE Montefiore Health System