How Mount Sinai Neurology and Neurosurgery Are Changing the Game

Outstanding Research Funding

Today, Mount Sinai Neurosurgery ranks No. 1 in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding in New York State and No. 17 in the United States. Mount Sinai Neurology secured $45 million in federal and non-federal research grant funding, including $13.2 million in NIH funding. Highlighted in this report is the groundbreaking work from the laboratory of Zhenyu Yue, PhD, which uncovered a previously unrecognized role of microglia autophagy and senescence in Alzheimer’s disease pathology. In other advances, recent research by neurosurgeon Hongyan Zou, MD, PhD, on axon guidance receptors in Alzheimer’s disease, has provided new insights into how glial cells respond to amyloid plaques.

Strong Collaborations, Pioneering Strategies

Our neurologists and neurosurgeons collaborate closely to ensure seamless patient care, and we deeply value our partnerships with referring physicians. For example, through our specialized epilepsy centers and outpatient locations, we provided extensive care in 2023 to more than 10,000 patients, performing 100 surgeries to reduce or eliminate seizures for both adult and pediatric patients.

We provide leading collaborative stroke care across six Joint Commission and New York State Department of Health-certified locations. In 2023, our stroke centers saw more than 8,500 patients, of those, more than 2,500 were diagnosed with stroke. Mount Sinai became the first health system in New York City to transition to IV Tenecteplase, which has been shown to better break down large clots and restore blood flow to the brain. Our surgical teams performed more than 300 stroke surgeries, surpassing any other team in the United States. Remarkably, these patients had a 30 percent chance of returning to independence at the established three-month benchmark. Our commitment to pioneering therapies extends to stroke rehabilitation, with vagus nerve stimulation yielding remarkable outcomes. This report describes the compelling case of a patient who, nine years post-stroke, regained significant arm and hand function.

Recruitment of Innovators

Our Mount Sinai Neurosurgery faculty members, pioneers in brain-computer interface technology, have founded two leading implantable brain-computer interface companies—Precision Neuroscience, led by Benjamin I. Rapoport, MD, PhD, and Synchron, headed by Thomas J. Oxley, MD, PhD. Their endeavors have translated into promising clinical studies, marking tangible progress in the field.

The agility of neurologist Michelle Kaku, MD, in responding to the unique needs of amyloidosis patients is evident in her creation of a specialized program tailored to their needs. Similarly, Rebecca M. Brown, MD, PhD, demonstrates how applying a dermatology procedure, relatively unknown in neurological circles, is being used to profoundly impact the quality of life of neurofibromatosis patients.

Partnership With Technology

Ongoing and new collaborations with industry pioneers are innovating neurological care as Mount Sinai BioDesign continues to expand its robust affiliations. Partnerships with companies such as Viz.ai, Stryker, Leica, Cerenovus, Siemens, Medtronic, and Philips are driving innovation in design, testing, validation, clinical workflow optimization, and clinical trials. Notably, this report showcases spine neurosurgeon Jeremy M. Steinberger, MD, who led the world's first fully robotic spinal fusion surgery in 2023.

It brings us great pleasure to share our successes with you.