As we approach the end of this academic year, I would like to congratulate all of our graduates for their tremendous accomplishments. No matter where they go in their careers as physicians and scientists, they will carry with them the values instilled in them at the College of Medicine. They may be leaving Einstein, but Einstein will never leave them.

A mainstay of Einstein for the past 50-plus years, Edward Burns, M.D. ’76, is taking the next step in his career as he transitions to emeritus status. Dr. Burns joined the faculty at Einstein in 1981, working in research and clinical care before being promoted to professor of pathology and of oncology. For the past 24 years he has been an exceptional executive dean. Dr. Burns embodies what this institution stands for, always leaving his door open to help anyone. In my interview with him, “Edward Burns: A Lifetime of Service to Einstein,” you can learn more as he reflects on Einstein’s history and his place in it.

Among his accomplishments, Dr. Burns created Einstein’s office of biotechnology and business development in 2000 to find commercial partners to give our discoveries the best chance of being turned into new therapeutics. One of those therapies, a cancer drug designed by Einstein professor of biochemistry Vern Schramm, Ph.D., received approval in 2017 for treating a drug-resistant type of T-cell lymphoma. It was the first Einstein drug to reach the market, and it cures 10% of the patients who receive it. Now Dr. Schramm and his team are working to transform treatment for the entire spectrum of T-cell malignancies with the goal of curing the other 90% of patients who take the drug. You can find out more in “Pursuing the Ones That Got Away,” and watch the video of how Dr. Schramm’s drug saved the life of a 2-year-old girl.

In other research efforts, Einstein scientists are partnering with Montefiore primary-care providers and the Bronx community to learn what works best for patients who have asthma, diabetes, dementia, and more. Our story “Practice Makes Perfect” details how this practice-based research network is helping to speedily integrate the latest medical advances into routine clinical practice.

Our alumni are also doing important work right here at Einstein. Our story “Alumni Win K Grants to Pursue Crucial Medical Research” profiles three Einstein early-career researchers who can conduct their investigations thanks to funding from coveted K grants. They are exploring better COVID-19 vaccines and therapies, sickle-cell disease, and HIV-related cardiovascular disease.

Finally, thanks to a $7 million gift from an anonymous donor, Einstein is launching a data-science institute that will allow scientists and clinicians to harness vast amounts of biomedical data, an essential resource for healthcare research. Learn more about how large sets of data can lead to medical breakthroughs in “New Data Science Institute Takes Shape at Einstein.”

As we wind up another productive academic year, I want to thank you—our trustees, donors, alumni, and friends of Einstein—for all that you do for the College of Medicine. Our success would not be possible without your generosity and support.

Yaron Tomer, M.D.
The Marilyn and Stanley M. Katz Dean
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Chief Academic Officer
Montefiore Einstein