The Leon and Norma Hess Center for Science and Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York officially opened in December, housing significant areas of six of Mount Sinai’s most influential institutes focusing on brain, cancer, heart, children’s health, genomics, and imaging. With a half-million square feet of space, the Hess Center increases the medical center’s research capacity by nearly 30% and is designed to facilitate real-time collaboration between physicians, investigators, and specialists from across disciplines.
“The Hess Center will serve as the focal point of Mount Sinai’s research and clinical programs,” said Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and CEO of The Mount Sinai Medical Center. “The combination of world-class faculty and state-of-the-art equipment and facilities will expand our ability to understand and treat the most challenging medical problems in areas such as cancer, heart disease, and brain and nervous system disorders.”
Expanded Research Capacity
The new Hess Center will house both clinical and research facilities of The Tisch Cancer Institute, as well as laboratories for The Friedman Brain Institute, the Cardiovascular Research Institute, the Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology, and the Translational and Molecular Imaging Institute. By expanding Mount Sinai’s research footprint, the Hess Center is expected to draw more than $350 million in National Institutes of Health funding over its first 5 years.
In the new building, clinical space for cancer patients has expanded to 50,000 square feet. A centralized space combining examination and consultation rooms, with easy access to a chemotherapy suite, enhances multidisciplinary care and comfort for patients. Laboratory space incorporates flexible design to host promising areas of research as they emerge. To foster collaboration, the Hess Center’s six full floors of laboratory space are connected to two floors of outpatient clinical space. An open staircase connects all research floors, with shared white boards spanning the walls of each landing.
“Cancer today is all about translation: the ability to go from bench to bedside and back again is truly extraordinary,” said Steven Burakoff, MD, and Director of The Tisch Cancer Institute. “Our clinical setup provides multidisciplinary care right in the building: radiation, infusion, imaging, and genomics will be there. We can share ideas with the cardiovascular institute, imaging, neuroscience, genomics, and child health—and be near the patients.” ■
