Looking for Cutting-Edge Research?
THINK EINSTEIN

Figuring out how to age well—that is the research mission at our Institute for Aging Research. Aging is the major risk factor for developing most adult-onset diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. As a Ph.D. candidate, you will explore the biology of aging from genetic and cellular angles and will prevent effects of aging in animals.

What's Hot: A study of centenarians revealed a consistent pattern of delayed onset of illness, with serious illness essentially compressed into a few years very late in life, and functional mutations/SNPs that protect against several age-related diseases.

The burden of cancer on the community is vast and devastating. Ph.D. candidates have the opportunity to do research at the Albert Einstein Cancer Center, in the departments of oncology, surgery, radiation oncology, and epidemiology and population health, and in numerous other basic and clinical science programs to help improve human health and the care of afflicted patients.

What's Hot: In a study in our own Bronx neighborhood, one of our researchers established a link between human papillomavirus in the mouth and risk of head and neck cancers.

Heart disease is the world’s number-one killer, and the Wilf Family Cardiovascular Research Institute aims to change that. Ph.D. candidates in our institute do life-saving research that furthers our understanding of the biological basis of heart disease including heart failure, heart attacks, atherosclerosis, congenital heart disease, arrhythmias/sudden cardiac death and hypertension.

What's Hot: Among the Institute’s funded research projects is a study of a small molecule called BAX that is a potential drug target for myocardial infarction.

Our Ph.D. in Clinical Investigation track will prepare you to conduct research that will improve the health and welfare of society using clinical and translational research methodology. The program is open to Einstein Ph.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students—especially those with a passion for math, computer science or study design—and is supported by Einstein’s Institute for Clinical and Translational Research.

What's Hot: Einstein clinical investigators recently identified frequent soccer-ball heading as a common and under-recognized cause of concussion symptoms in amateur players. The findings countered the earlier belief that concussion injuries resulted mainly from inadvertent head impacts, such as collisions with other players or a goalpost.

At our Diabetes Research Center, we pool our resources and brainpower with Mount Sinai and other area medical schools to fight diabetes and conduct related studies in obesity, metabolism and endocrinology. A second center at Einstein, the Center for Diabetes Translational Research, recently received NIH funding.

What's Hot: Our researchers have previously established a critical role of the central nervous system in the regulation of metabolic physiology through specific neuronal function. Our investigators have demonstrated that the plasticity of astrocytes (neuronal support cells) are vital for this central control of metabolic balance.

From identifying risk factors for resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Africa to developing novel therapeutics for systemic fungal diseases, our investigators are advancing what we know about infectious diseases and the pathogens that cause them. We conduct our studies through hands-on field work that supports basic science research as well as clinical trials.

What's Hot: Department researchers developed an oral, ultra-long-lasting capsule that dissolves in the stomach and releases ivermectin, a drug for treating African river blindness and that also kills the Anopheles mosquito that transmits malaria.

Stem cells: They’re the holy grail of medicine, able to develop into different cell types and serve as a renewable source of replacement cells in many disorders, diseases and conditions. At our Gottesman Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, we study stem cell biology, encourage collaborations and innovations by bridging scientific fields, and translate basic science discoveries into new therapies.

What's Hot: Our researchers identified for the first time the conditions that promote stem-cell proliferation in the fetal liver, contributing to our knowledge of how hematopoietic stem cells are amplified in utero.

Let our faculty guide you as you take your science to the next level in cell and molecular biology through a deeper understanding of cell membranes, RNA trafficking, metastasis and beyond. Our researchers have developed fluorescent proteins and cell and animal models for sophisticated analyses of cell structure and function. Images from Einstein’s Biophotonics Center reveal—in astonishing detail—the molecular glitches that cause conditions such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

What's Hot: Our state-of-the-art microscopy shows cellular processes in action, including intravasation, in which tumor cells penetrate blood vessels and travel throughout the body.

Everything we do keeps the endpoint in view: combating human disease. To get there, we study antibiotic design, gene function, protein folding and dynamic motion, and more. You’ll learn about the principles behind the chemical and physical properties of biological molecules through coursework, lab work and independent research.

What's Hot: The discovery of a new drug for hard-to-treat lymphomas came from our department. Our researchers also won an NIH grant to make cancer immunotherapy agents to precisely and effectively treat a variety of cancers, with far fewer side effects than current immunotherapies.

Research in the department of cell biology focuses on understanding molecular mechanisms of gene regulation in eukaryotic cells. Our goal is to comprehend the normal regulatory mechanisms and how they are disrupted in diseases, especially cancer. Using mammalian cells, yeast, viruses, fruit flies and transgenic mice, we are investigating mechanisms of DNA replication and repair, control of the cell cycle and apoptosis, roles for transcriptional regulation and chromatin structure in gene expression, RNA processing, intracellular trafficking, membrane fusion and budding, mechanisms of generating antibody diversity, and the functions of cell surface sugars.

What's Hot: A department researcher found that antibiotics may prevent sickle cell crisis and could offer the first strategy for warding off long-term complications such as organ failure.

Join one of our 20 research groups, where we study complex biological systems using drosophila, zebrafish, mice and human cell culture. Cutting-edge techniques reveal cell and tissue polarity, protein processing and trafficking, stem cell fate decisions and cellular signaling in human disease (such as cancer and obesity) and aging.

What's Hot: Department researchers studying autophagy—a cellular quality control system—have identified ways autophagy malfunctions contribute to cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease.

Graduate students interested in genes and their function will find a home in our department, which has become a driver of bench-to-bedside research and offers many opportunities to collaborate across departments, including clinical departments. Resources in the department include well-developed research programs with invertebrate model organisms, a Center for Epigenomics, single cell technology and advanced computational genomics support.

What's Hot: We developed and validated a method for accurately identifying mutations in the genomes of single cells, which can help predict whether cancer will develop in seemingly healthy tissue.

Diseases caused by bacteria, viruses, fungi and other parasites bring disability, socioeconomic instability or death to millions of people. Our mission is to understand the biology of pathogens, their host organisms and the interactions between them—critical to developing new drugs and vaccines.

What's Hot: Department researchers discovered the first human antibodies that can protect animals against all three major disease-causing ebolaviruses.

Our research studies major diseases such as cancer, diabetes and obesity. We also have programs in toxicology, neurodevelopment, and the pathophysiology of aging. A major interest is the mechanism of drug action, and the signaling systems that are the targets of most drugs. Our faculty utilize genetic studies in mice, flies and worms, genome-wide analysis of chromatin regulation and gene expression, biochemical studies on critical signaling proteins, as well as advanced physiological experiments on aging in parabiotic animals.

What's Hot: Dr. Dongsheng Cai recently discovered that inflammatory signaling in astrocytes regulates central control of glucose homeostasis, blood pressure and body weight.

In your research with us you will examine nervous system organization and function from multiple scientific perspectives using a number of state of the art techniques. You may cross paths with colleagues examining behavior, electrophysiologists, cellular and molecular neurobiologists, and systems and computational neuroscientists. Though department life centers on the lab, you’ll stay connected through annual departmental retreats, student organized grant review sessions, works-in-progress presentations, weekly seminars, journal clubs, pasta nights and mini-courses.

What's Hot: Our researchers discovered the role of translational control in imprinting in chicks. Restoring translational control may rejuvenate adult brain plasticity and restore learning and memory in a variety of cognitive disorders.

Our dynamic field connects the dots between molecular/biological approaches and disease processes. We offer you a chance to do state-of-the-art research in cancer, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, immunology, vascular disease, neuro-AIDS, molecular genetics and infectious diseases, among others. Studies often include a clinical component.

What's Hot: A researcher identified a protein that causes an autoimmune reaction in the joints of juvenile arthritis patients.

Physiology is one of the oldest disciplines in medical science, and biophysics is one the newest. With both, our job is to determine the chemical, physical and mathematical basis for biological activity. We apply the latest sophisticated technology and tools of the physical sciences to solve significant problems and develop new strategies for pharmaceutical intervention.

What's Hot: Department researchers have found a way to promote neural regeneration by targeting a novel microtubule regulator called fidgetin-like 2 (FL2) and have tested the efficacy of targeting this protein to promote nerve healing in vivo using a rodent model of radical prostatectomy.

How do the higher-level properties of complex biological systems and traits materialize from interactions among their parts? Our mission is to answer this question by developing concepts and employing tools coming from mathematical physical and computational sciences. We aim to advance our understanding of complex biological systems, the evolution of life’s diversity and everything in between. It’s all connected.

What's Hot: Information to come.