# Albert Einstein College of Medicine

The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein is an independent degree-granting institution within the Montefiore Einstein Health System.
Einstein hosts an M.D. program, a Ph.D., and Masters programs. Admission to Einstein's MD program is among the most competitive in the United States, with an acceptance rate of 1.87% in 2024. Einstein is also home to one of the original three Medical Scientist Training Programs inaugurated in 1964. The program has received continuous funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Planning for the college was initiated by Yeshiva University President Samuel Belkin in 1945. Physicist Albert Einstein, who noted that the college would be "unique" as it would provide medical training to "students of all creeds and races", lent his name to the institution. Due to Yeshiva's financial difficulties, Einstein was transferred to Montefiore in 2015. Following a $1 billion donation to the school by Ruth Gottesman in 2024, Einstein became tuition-free for all MD students.
Einstein includes several NIH-designated centers and has been the site of medicals feats such as the first coronary artery bypass surgery. Faculty members have included 18 members of the National Academy of Sciences, three National Medal of Science recipients, and neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks. Alumni have made significant scientific contributions and include seven members of the National Academy of Sciences, two Howard Hughes Medical Investigators, a MacArthur Fellow, and a National Medal of Science awardee.

## History
### Founding

In 1945, Yeshiva University President Samuel Belkin began planning a new medical school. Under his urging, Yeshiva's Board of Trustees negotiated with the New York State Board of Regents to expand the university's charter to grant M.D. degrees, finalized in December 1950.
In 1951, physicist Albert Einstein wrote a letter to Belkin lauding the planned school, writing that it was "of the greatest importance to American Jewry" and would "welcome students of all creeds and races". He became an honorary chairman for the medical school campaign, alongside former First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, New York Governor Thomas Dewey, and Richard Nixon.
The modest Einstein was initially reluctant to associate his name with the school—he had recently refused to lend his name to Brandeis University and had declined to become the second president of Israel—and instead suggested that it be named for the Jewish physician Maimonides. Two years later, at an event marking his 74th birthday, March 14, 1953, Einstein agreed to lend his name to the medical school. At the gathering—his only public appearance in 22 years at the Institute for Advanced Study—Einstein told The New York Times that "physics has favored medicine by giving civilized man confidence in the scientific method." Albert Einstein died on April 18, 1955, months prior to the institution's dedication and opening.
Although affiliation with Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan was considered, a site in the Bronx's Morris Park was selected due to large amounts of readily available land and proximity to the adjacent Bronx Municipal Hospital then under construction. Construction of the first medical school building—now the Leo Forchheimer Medical Sciences Building—began in October 1953, with a contemporary design of steel and concrete. On September 12, 1955, Einstein welcomed its first class of 56 students in the partially completed Forchheimer Building. Einstein was the first new medical school to open in New York City since 1897 and the first in the United States to open under Jewish auspices.

### Expansion

The Sue Golding Graduate Division was established in 1957 to offer Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degrees in biomedical science. In 1963, Einstein established its Department of Genetics, the first at any at any medical school; the coursework it offered was possibly the first formal medical curriculum on genetics. The following year, the Medical Scientist Training Program, a combined MD–PhD program, was established.
The first successful coronary artery bypass surgery was performed in 1960 at Einstein by a team led by Robert H. Goetz; the procedure has been described as "one of the most significant surgical achievements of the 20th century". In 1966, the school opened a private teaching hospital for its students, now the Jack D. Weiler Hospital.
The Ullmann Research Center for Health Sciences, a 12-story facility, opened in 1964. The following year, the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation donated $1.45 million to Einstein to establish a center to study human development and mental disabilities. The center, named for Rose F. Kennedy, opened with 200 staff scientists in 1970.

### Recent history

In 1996, Einstein built a 10-story research complex, the Samuel H. and Rachel Golding Building. Six years later, the college opened the three-story Gruss Magnetic Resonance Research Center. Equipped with magnetic resonance equipment beyond conventional MRI, the center was the only such facility in the New York metropolitan area and one of six in the world upon opening.
In 2008, Einstein opened a $225 million research complex, the Price Center. This expansion doubled the size of Einstein's campus to nearly 40 acres. Also that year, the college replaced its old logo—a "staid" portrait of Albert Einstein—with a stylized symbol that represents the helical structure of DNA, a notable spiral staircase on campus, and "E" for Einstein.
In 2024, Ruth Gottesman—a long-time professor at the medical school and head of the board of trustees—donated $1 billion to the school to make tuition free for all students in perpetuity. The contribution also stipulated that the college never change its name. The donation was one of the largest to any educational insitution, and, according to The New York Times, likely the largest donation to any medical school.

## Affiliations and teaching hospitals
### Montefiore

Einstein's parent institute, Montefiore Health System, is a private healthcare system and one of the largest employers in New York. It comprises 15 member hospitals, including Montefiore Einstein Medical Center and Children's Hospital at Montefiore, and has the busiest emergency room in New York City and the ninth busiest in the United States. The system was founded in 1884 and is named for Moses Montefiore, a British financier and the Sheriff of London.
Einstein first became affiliated with Montefiore in 1963, with Montefiore attending physicians serving as Einstein faculty. By 1969, financial troubles led Yeshiva University to contract its Jack D. Weiler Hospital to the Montefiore Medical Center. In 1980, the college's Department of Medicine merged with Montefiore.
In the 2010s, Yeshiva University's mounting financial troubles—caused in part by Einstein's high operational costs and a $110 million loss to Bernie Madoff's Ponzi scheme in 2008—led the university to transfer ownership of the medical school to Montefiore in 2015. Although the deal's details were largely kept private, Einstein became a new entity with 51 percent ownership by Montefiore and 49 percent by Yeshiva. Montefiore assumed all operational and financial responsibilities. Yeshiva continued to grant Einstein's degrees until 2019, when the medical school achieved independent degree-granting authority. In 2021, Yeshiva and Montefiore launched a competitive joint B.A./B.S.-M.D. program for students entering Yeshiva.

### Jacobi

In conjunction with the construction of Einstein's first building, New York City constructed a 1,349-bed, $37.5 million hospital adjacent to the school. Now the Jacobi Medical Center, Belkin and New York City Mayor Vincent Impellitteri agreed to permit its use as Einstein's teaching hospital. The hospital provides healthcare for some 1.2 million Bronx and New York City area residents. Jacobi is the primary clerkship site for 3rd- and 4th-year medical students from Einstein.

## Student body and life

As of 2025, Einstein had 789 medical students according to U.S. News & World Report. Admission to Einstein's MD program is among the most competitive in the United States, with an acceptance rate of 1.87% in 2024. All students are awarded the full-tuition Gottesman Scholarship, with an average total cost of $138,000 for the four year program. New York residents comprise 44 percent of M.D. students.
Einstein offers housing for students and postdoctoral researchers. Student housing consists of three 28-story towers built in 1970. Apartments arrangementions include studios, 1 bedrooms, 2 bedrooms, 3 bedrooms, and 3 bedroom penthouses. The campus also hosts a reacreational facility, the Falk Center, that houses a gym, pool, and courts for basketball, racquetball, and squash. An underground parking garage is also located on campus.

## Academic programs
### MD program

The first 16 months of the MD program, the preclerkship phase, consists of fundamental scientific and medical coursework. Longitudinal courses include bioethics and service learning. This is followed by a 12 month clinical phase that includes clerkships and preparation for and completion of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1. Clerkships are followed by completion of the USMLE Step 2 exam. The final 18 months of medical school include clinical electives, increased clinical duties, and a research capstone project.
In addition to Jacobi and Montefiore hospitals, medical students can train in medical facilities such as the VA Bronx Healthcare System and Bronx Psychiatric Center. Students may also volunteer at the Einstein Community Health Outreach (ECHO) Free Clinic, which provides care to those without health insurance. Founded in 1999, ECHO was the first such clinic in New York City and one of the first in the United States.

### Medical Scientist Training Program

Einstein hosts one of the three inaugural Medical Scientist Training Programs (MSTPs) launched by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1964. MSTPs are fully-funded dual doctoral MD-PhD programs, offering both graduate and clinical training for physician-scientists. The program includes waived tuition, a stipend, subsidized housing, and a sesquiennial retreat to the Edith Macy Conference Center.
The first year of the program integrates medical school preclerkship curriculum with graduate school coursework and lab rotations. In the second year, students complete preclinical medical courses, take USMLE Step 1, and choose a PhD advisor based on lab rotations. Years three to five focus on PhD research, publication, and optional clinical activities, followed by intensive clinical clerkships in years six and seven after dissertation defense. While working in the lab, MSTP students engage in both pathology case studies and clinics to maintain clinical skills.

### PhD Program

Applicants apply directly to the PhD program, not to a specific department. This allows graduate students to gain exposure many areas of research before making an informed decision about the thesis work. There are more than 200 biomedical laboratories for students to choose.
The Ph.D. concentration in Clinical Investigation provides advanced training that prepares students for an independent research career in clinical and translational science. It is offered for Ph.D. students enrolled in Einstein’s graduate division and for M.D./Ph.D. students in Einstein’s Medical Scientist Training Program.

### Master's degree programs

The Clinical Research Training Program, founded in 1998, awards 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. In partnership with Yeshiva's Benjamin N. 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.

## Research
### Funding and research centers

In 2024, Einstein received $192 million in funding from the NIH. The college hosts several NIH-designated centers:
* Montefiore Einstein Comprehensive Cancer Center
* Center for AIDS Research
* Diabetes Research Center
* Harold and Muriel Block Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Einstein and Montefiore
* Institute for Aging Research
* Marion Bessin Liver Research Center
* New York Regional Center for Diabetes Translation Research
* Rose F. Kennedy Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Research Center

### Notable research

Einstein researchers have made significant discoveries and advancements. Thymosins were discovered in Abraham White's lab at Einstein in 1966. In 1968, after observing elevated hemoglobin A1c in a diabetes patient, Samuel Rahbar confirmed the discovery at Einstein with Helen Ranney and first structurally characterized A1c. A1c tests are now the primary method of diabetes management. In 1979, the mechanism of taxol—one of the World Health Organization's Essential Medicines—was identified by Susan Band Horwitz at Einstein. Other notable research at Einstein includes the discovery of the Tc1/mariner transposon superfamily and the invention of single molecule mRNA fluorescent in situ hybridization.
During the 1980s, Einstein researchers made significant discoveries on the emerging HIV/AIDS pandemic due to its high prevalence in the Bronx. These include the first description of pediatric HIV/AIDS and crucial work on mother-to-child transmission, links with substance abuse and men who have sex with men, and the role of opportunistic infections like tuberculosis. Mycobacterium—a bacterial genus that includes the species that cause tuberculosis and leprosy—was first genetically manipulated at Einstein by William Jacobs Jr. His large family of Mycobacterium strains (such as mc$^2$155) are named for Einstein's mass–energy equivalence formula: E = mc$^2$. With Paul Alan Cox, Einstein professor Oliver Sacks proposed that Lytico-bodig disease in the Chamorro people may be caused by consumption of flying foxes that had ingested cycad neurotoxins.

## Notable people
### Faculty

As of 2025, Einstein has over 2,000 faculty members, yielding a faculty-student ratio of 2.6:1. Faculty members that have taught or are currently teaching at Einstein include 18 members of the National Academy of Sciences and five members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. One faculty member—William R. Jacobs Jr.—has been a Howard Hughes Medical Investigator. Neurologist and writer Oliver Sacks taught at the college for over 40 years. His 1973 book Awakenings—documenting his work with encephalitis lethargica in the Bronx—was adapted into a 1990 film starring Robin Williams and Robert De Niro.
In 1983, professor Berta Scharrer was awarded the National Medal of Science for establishing the concept of neurosecretion. She is considered the co-founder of neuroendocrinology. In 1987, professor Harry Eagle was awarded the National Medal of Science for developing Eagle's minimal essential medium (MEM), widely used for cell culture. Genetics professor Salome Gluecksohn-Waelsch was a Royal Society Fellow and received the National Medal of Science in 1993 for her fundamental research on mammalian genetics.

### Alumni

Alumni of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine include seven elected members of the National Academy of Sciences, two Howard Hughes Medical Investigators, and five American Academy of Arts and Sciences members. Einstein graduate Charles S. Peskin, who developed mathematical models for blood flow in the heart and other biological fluids, was awarded a MacArthur "genius grant" in 1983. Alumnus Lucy Shapiro was awarded the National Medal of Science in 2011 for her work on bacterial genetics that helped found modern developmental biology.
Scientific achievements by alumni include the co-discovery of the hepatitis C virus by George Kuo. Rudolph Leibel discovered the hormone leptin and cloned the genes of it and its receptors. Sankar Ghosh, currently a professor at Columbia University, conducted fundamental research on transcription factor NF-KB. Raymond Vahan Damadian invented the nuclear magnetic resonance scanning machine and is credited by some with inventing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at large; for his MRI work Damadian was awarded the Lemelson-MIT Program's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2001. Alumnus Ronald J. Ross first applied an MRI scanner in a clinical setting.
Notable physicians include anesthesiologist Gary Hartstein, who served as the FIA Medical Delegate for the Formula One World Championship. Notable psychologist alumni include Daniel Stern, who wrote The Interpersonal World of the Infant. Other alumni include Howard Dean—former governor of Vermont, 2004 presidential candidate, and Democratic National Committee chairman—and Baruch Goldstein, perpetrator of the 1994 Cave of the Patriarchs massacre.