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Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hosts 6th Annual SINAInnovations conference and Second Health Hackathon

Newswise — (New York, NY – October 09, 2017) – The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is preparing to host the 6th annual SINAInnovations conference, whose theme this year is “Cancer.” The conference aims to transform our understanding of cancer biology and care of cancer patients. The event will highlight the astonishing advances in understanding and treating the disease, and address issues that include the need for personalized treatments, the contribution of viral infections to cancer, disparities in cancer care and survivorship, among others. The event also features a health care technology competition, the Health Hackathon, preceding the conference that could yield exciting new technologies in cancer biology and patient care.

SINAInnovations takes place October 17-18, and will include keynote addresses from renowned thought leaders, along with focused panel discussions by experts. Topics include Cancer Immunology; Immunotherapy and Immune Monitoring; Viruses and Cancer; Cancer Genetics and Genomics; Personalized omics, Cancer Risk and Management; Novel Therapeutics in Cancer and Post Genomic Age; and Cancer Survivorship and Disparities.

“SINAInnovations underscores Mount Sinai’s institutional commitment to cutting-edge research for creating and discovering novel approaches to treating cancer and ultimately improving the quality and length of life for cancer patients,” said Scott L. Friedman, MD, Dean for Therapeutic Discovery at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and director of the conference.

Notable speakers at this year’s SINAInnovations include Carl H. June, MD, Director of the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and Director of Translational Research in the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, and Investigator of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute; Maura Gillison, MD, PhD, Professor of Medicine and a CPRIT scholar at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; Elaine Mardis, PhD, Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Genomic Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital; and George Yancopoulos, MD, PhD, President and CSO of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

The Mount Sinai Health Hackathon, a unique satellite event of SINAInnovations, will be held October 13-15, the weekend prior to the conference. Groups of diverse students, young entrepreneurs and innovators, and health care professionals will form teams to create novel solutions addressing the unmet needs of cancer research, treatment, and patient management. The teams will work intensely over 48 hours to brainstorm and develop their technologies, and at the close of the challenge, each team will pitch its solution to a panel of expert judges. The winning teams will present their winning technology during the SINAInnovations Conference and subsequently during a “Shark Tank”-like competition in 2018.

“This is an exciting opportunity for Mount Sinai doctors and scientists to interact with world-class experts from across the country to share ideas and focus on barriers to improve patient care and cancer treatment,” said Ramon Parsons, MD, PhD, Director of The Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

For more information about both events, please visit http://icahn.mssm.edu/about/sinainnovations/. Please visit this link to register for SINAInnovations, and this link to register for the Mount Sinai Health Hackathon.

About the Mount Sinai Health System

The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City’s largest integrated delivery system encompassing seven hospital campuses, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai’s vision is to produce the safest care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The System includes approximately 7,100 primary and specialty care physicians; 10 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more than 140 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and 31 affiliated community health centers. Physicians are affiliated with the renowned Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, which is ranked among the highest in the nation in National Institutes of Health funding per investigator. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report’s “Honor Roll” of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation’s top 20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in the top 50 in four other specialties in the 2017-2018 “Best Hospitals” issue. Mount Sinai’s Kravis Children’s Hospital also is ranked in six out of ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked 12th nationally for Ophthalmology and 50th for Ear, Nose, and Throat, while Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s and Mount Sinai West are ranked regionally. For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/, or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

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