The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is a unique, disease-oriented biomedical research institution dedicated to advancing science, shaping medicine and making a difference in people’s lives. Our more than 100 doctors and scientists study disease at all levels — from molecular biology to patient-oriented research — and translate their scientific findings into practical use. Located in Manhasset, NY, The Feinstein Institute is one of the fastest-growing biomedical research institutes in the country.

Established in 1999, The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research is already among the top 6 percent of the more than 3,400 institutions that receive National Institutes of Health funding. The Feinstein Institute is an integral part of the North Shore-Long Island Jewish (LI J) Health System, the nation’s third-largest nonprofit, secular healthcare system with a service area that encompasses more than 5 million people. Because of this unique relationship, our researchers have access to hundreds of thousands of patients, positioning the institute as a leader in translational and clinical research.

Our Focus on Human Disease
Our investigators work to cure human disease. This is the driving force behind all of the institute’s activities — from our basic science experiments and clinical investigations to our technology transfer standards, graduate school courses, investigative medicine seminars and community outreach programs. Feinstein investigators hold patents for experimental drugs that are in various stages of clinical and preclinical testing for arthritis, cancer, cardiac disease, sepsis, shock, trauma and other inflammatory conditions.

With a focus on human disease, it’s no surprise that The Feinstein Institute places great importance on clinical research — research that involves people. Being part of the North Shore-LI J Health System facilitates these efforts. Since 1998, we have enrolled more than 115,000 participants in clinical research studies.

Central to our focus on human disease is training the next generation of physician-scientists. In 2006, the North Shore-LIJ Graduate School of Molecular Medicine at The Feinstein Institute experienced numerous important milestones. The program was reaccredited for seven years, held its first commencement since North Shore-LI J took over the school and tripled its enrollment. The three-year program, which confers the PhD degree in molecular medicine to physicians, is highly selective and limited to a total of 12 students, with approximately four admitted per year. The selective nature of the program and high faculty-to-student ratio together ensure a quality training experience for each candidate. On a more global level, the unique program helps the medical establishment ensure that the promise of biomedical research makes its way to the patient’s bedside.

Expansion in 2006
In 2006, The Feinstein Institute experienced programmatic expansion in many areas, including research of B-cells, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL ), Alzheimer’s disease and genetics. Thomas L. Rothstein, MD , PhD, an immunology expert in the area of B lymphocytes — white blood cells that play an important role in the immune system for health and combatting disease — joined the faculty in the beginning of the year, bringing numerous laboratory studies and staff members with him. The cutting-edge research program that Dr. Rothstein has been leading for more than two decades now continues at The Feinstein Institute.

The Feinstein’s CLL basic and clinical research program also experienced significant growth this past year. Led by Nicholas Chiorazzi, MD , and Kanti Rai, MD , the program hired several new investigators and research support personnel. In addition, they enhanced their laboratory and clinic infrastructures — including both construction of physical spaces and system enhancements — to begin translating the team’s scientific discoveries into novel treatments for CLL patients.

In conjunction with the Litwin-Zucker Research Center for the Study of Alzheimer’s Disease and Memory Disorders, The Feinstein Institute expanded its Alzheimer’s disease research program. Peter Davies, PhD, an international leader in Alzheimer’s disease research, joined the faculty full time and leads the scientific program. The Litwin-Zucker center focuses on studying the disease at the patient level and is enhanced by basic-science laboratories geared toward understanding the causes of the disease at the molecular level. The comprehensive Alzheimer’s research program involving laboratory, translational and clinical research studies will be moved into state-of-the-art facilities in The Feinstein’s new building when construction is complete in early 2008. More than a dozen researchers and support staff members have joined the Alzheimer’s research program.

In 2006, The Feinstein Institute purchased and installed a powerful and robust new technology for scanning the human genome. Genetics researchers at The Feinstein Institute became the first in the New York metropolitan region to use the technology, which was developed by Illumina Inc. With it, they already have uncovered strong evidence of two entirely new genetic linkages for rheumatoid arthritis, as published in Science in late 2006. Led by Peter K. Gregersen, MD , the genetic mapping team is now generating 20 million individual genotypes every day. The Illumina technology not only is fast an efficient, it allows scientists to analyze sequence variations with high accuracy — the technique is at least 50 percent more informative than the previous standard genetic mapping techniques.

The Feinstein Institute’s commitment to bringing in the latest technology for comprehensive genetic mapping will also benefit research on diseases besides rheumatoid arthritis, including other autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s disease, CLL , schizophrenia and autism.