Mount Sinai Health System, where the world's first human trachea transplant was performed one year ago, has launched the Institute for Airway Sciences (IAS), established to advance new therapies for patients with sinus, laryngotracheal airway, and lung diseases.
Under the direction of Eric Genden, MD, MBA, Dr. Isidore Friesner Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Charles Powell, MD, MBA, Janice and Coleman Rabin Professor of Medicine and Chief of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine at Icahn Mount Sinai, and Marek Mlodzik, PhD, Lillian and Henry M. Stratton Professor and Chair of Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology at Icahn Mount Sinai, the Institute for Airway Sciences brings together a multidisciplinary group of researchers and clinicians throughout Mount Sinai Health System with deep scientific and clinical expertise in the diseases that impact the airway.
"This is not about the science of tomorrow; this is about taking the science of today and pioneering new, innovative solutions that will positively impact the lives of our patients," said Dr. Genden. "The Institute for Airway Sciences will become the cornerstone for airway disease treatments and research. Key players from across multiple departments and institutes within the Mount Sinai Health System will come together as one source of education, community work and collaboration with the shared goal of eviscerating diseases that have disabled our patients."
The IAS will further promote research and innovation through four resource cores: (1) the Black Family Stem Cell Institute; (2) the Department of Cell, Developmental and Regenerative Biology; (3) the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine; and (4) the Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.
With the goal of building a pipeline of physician-scientists, the IAS will award pilot grants and user scholarships to encourage innovative projects with an emphasis on medical students and residents in training. The IAS will also include seminars and research-in-progress talks focused on airway science and the diseases that impact the airway.
"Mount Sinai has a proven track record of moving the needle on patient care, and when Dr. Genden led the world's first human trachea transplant earlier this year, we knew it could serve as a launch pad for something bigger," said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs of the Mount Sinai Health System. "We wanted to develop a clinical and research hub solely dedicated to the airway—from the sinuses all the way down to the lungs. The researchers and clinicians involved in this collaboration bring profound expertise and talent in their respective areas and we look forward to bringing the Institute's mission and vision to life."
