Albert Einstein College of Medicine

There are 183 first-year medical students in the Class of 2022. 7,052 people applied for seats, and 1,100 were interviewed. 54% of the class identify as women and 16% identify with groups underrepresented in medicine. Ages range from 21-33 with an average age of 23.5. 17% of students were born outside the United States and students come from 20 U.S. states. 8% of students have master's degrees and 13% are certified EMTs. Students have an excellent track record of volunteer service.[4]

Einstein offers an innovative two year pre-clerkship curriculum which incorporates early clinical exposure and extensive small group case-based conferences. Einstein was founded and operates as a secular school, but has university holidays on Jewish holidays due to the tradition from the former affiliation.[5] To simulate the real world of medicine and foster an atmosphere of collegiality, pre-clerkship courses are graded on a pass/fail basis. This curriculum consists of interdisciplinary courses that integrate concepts and knowledge across biomedical science disciplines in a manner relevant to the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of human disease. Approximately half of the pre-clerkship curriculum is oriented around laboratory sessions, case-conferences, and clinical encounters to ensure an interactive educational experience.[6] Upon completing their second year, students are required to pass USMLE Step 1 prior to beginning their first clerkship.

In June of the third year, students begin a sequence of clerkships in internal medicine, general surgery, pediatrics, psychiatry, obstetrics and gynecology, family medicine, geriatrics, and radiology.[7] They are able to take advantage of Einstein's extensive network of clinical affiliates, including the Jack D. Weiler Hospital and Jacobi Medical Center which are both on-campus. In addition to the clerkship curriculum, opportunities for small group case-based discussions on topics related to prevention, professionalism, and ethics continue in a course entitled Patients, Doctors, and Communities. Fourth year students are required to take four months of rotations including two sub-internships, one month within the ambulatory care program focusing on outpatient medicine or pediatrics, and one month of neurology. The remaining seven months of the year consist of electives. All students are required to write a scholarly paper which can be based on bench research, clinical research, global health, or analysis of a bioethics topic.

Einstein's MSTP was one of the original three programs funded by the NIH in 1964, and has been funded continuously since then.[8] The program is designed to train investigators who could bridge the gap between basic science and clinical research by providing integrated graduate and clinical training. Einstein's MSTP offers and integrated first year curriculum covering both graduate and medical coursework. Second year MSTP students complete the second year M.D. curriculum while working to select a Ph.D. thesis advisor. After performing one clinical clerkship, students commence their thesis research while completing any remaining coursework required for their graduate department. Students are expected to publish at least one first author, peer-reviewed paper. On average students publish two first-author papers and four papers. After defending their dissertation, students complete the required clinical clerkships then have the opportunity to take "fourth-year" electives.[9] The program offers tuition remission and a $35,000 annual stipend as well as medical insurance, subsidized housing, a gym membership, and biannual retreats. While on dissertation status, students have the opportunity to attend the MSTP continuity clinic which ensures they stay in touch with patients and the clinical atmosphere.[10]

The Clinical Research Training Program, founded in 1998, leads to the awarding of the Master of Science in Clinical Research Methods. This program involves spending one year after clerkships and some elective time during the fourth year completing courses in clinical research methods and driving a mentor-guided research project that leads to two first-author manuscripts. This program is offered at no additional cost to medical students and fellowship stipends are available.[11] In addition to medical students, clinical fellows and academic researchers also take part in this training.

In partnership with The Cardozo School of Law, Einstein offers a Master of Science in Bioethics that focuses on transnational work in bioethics to help professionals improve care and communication.[12]

The Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine and Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion, 2008

Einstein has been the site of major medical achievements and accomplishments, including:[20]

• In 1964, Einstein was the first medical school in the United States to establish a Department of Genetics.
• In 1965, Einstein opened one of the first General Clinical Research Centers in the US, funded by the NIH
• The residency program in Social Medicine was established in 1970, in part to address the shortage of primary care clinicians in underserved communities.
• In 1974, Einstein's Liver Research Center—now the Marion Bessin Liver Research Center—became the first institute in the United States for the study of liver disease and injury.
• In 1976, researchers at Einstein identified the mechanism of action of Taxol, an important cancer drug. (Susan B. Horwitz)
• In 1978, Einstein was designated a Diabetes Research and Training Center, one of seven in the US. Prominent scientists involved in research on the insulin receptor, the mechanisms of diabetes complications, glucose toxicity, control of metabolism by the brain, and hypoglycemia have done research there.
• In 1988, one of the first Centers for AIDS Research in the country funded by the NIH was created at Einstein. Researchers were among the first to identify pediatric AIDS as a distinct disease and established the first day-care center in the world for children with AIDS. (Arye Rubinstein)
• The first Endovascular Aortic Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) was performed at Montefiore Medical Center in 1992 by Drs. Frank Veith, Michael Marin and Juan Parodi.
• In 1994, Einstein became the only New York City medical school selected by the NIH to participate in the Women's Health Initiative, the largest research study of women's health ever undertaken. (Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, principal investigator)
• In 2006, Einstein became the only medical institution in the Northeast to serve as a research site for the Hispanic Community Health Study, the largest research study of Hispanic health ever conducted. (Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, principal investigator)
• Einstein researchers demonstrated the association between reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, and heart disease.
• Einstein researchers identified a neurotransmitter missing from the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, a finding that influenced much subsequent Alzheimer's disease research. (Peter Davies)
• Researchers at Einstein discovered structural abnormalities of brain cells that explain deficiencies in cognitive development, greatly contributing to the understanding of mental retardation. (Dominick P. Purpura)
• Einstein researchers helped discover the mechanisms responsible for the diversity of antibodies and their precision in immune responses. (Matthew D. Scharff)
• Scientists at Einstein pioneered research that has led to improved methods of avoiding organ transplant rejection. (Stanley G. Nathenson)
• Einstein researchers have conducted important epidemiologic research in migraines and other types of headaches. (Richard B. Lipton)
• The Division of Substance Abuse is the largest addiction treatment program in the Bronx, the second largest public treatment program in New York State, and the largest in the world operating under the auspices of a medical school. It serves more than 3,600 people, and provides comprehensive opioid addiction treatment at nine community-based outpatient facilities located throughout the borough, as well as ambulatory services for all substances of abuse at the Division’s Chemical Dependency Wellness Services program in facilities located in the North and South Bronx.

The College of Medicine has been the center of several allegations of discrimination. In 1994, Einstein was sued by Heidi Weissmann, a researcher in nuclear medicine and former associate professor of radiology, for sexual discrimination for not promoting her due to gender bias. The case was settled for $900,000.[21] Heidi Weissmann also won a copyright infringement suit against her former colleague and co-author Leonard M. Freeman, who published as his own an article written by Weissmann after adding three words to the title.[22]

In 1998, Yeshiva University and Einstein were sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for discrimination of two medical students over their sexual orientation by not allowing their non-student, non-married partners to live with them in student housing.[23]

In February 2015, Yeshiva University announced the transfer of ownership of Einstein to the Montefiore Health System, in order to eliminate a large deficit from the university's financial statements. The medical school accounted for approximately two-thirds of the university's annual operating deficits, which had reached about $100 million before the announcement.[24] On September 9, 2015, the agreement between Yeshiva and Montefiore was finalized, and financial and operational control of Albert Einstein College of Medicine was transferred to Montefiore.[25][26] Yeshiva University continued to grant Einstein's degrees until 2018, as the medical school achieved independent degree-granting authority in the spring of 2019.[27][28]