Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

What Feinstein Institute for Medical Research does

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the dedicated research arm of Northwell Health, New York's largest healthcare provider, and operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at 350 Community Drive in Manhasset, New York. The institute encompasses 50 research labs organized across six institutes covering behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research, supported by approximately 6,300 researchers, staff, clinicians, and students and over 214 named researchers.

The institute pioneered the field of bioelectronic medicine — the convergence of molecular medicine, neuroscience, and bioengineering that uses device technology to read and modulate electrical activity within the body's nervous system, particularly the vagus nerve, to treat disease without pharmaceuticals. Core technology platforms include vagus nerve stimulation devices, brain-computer interface systems for spinal cord injury recovery, an anatomical atlas of the human vagus nerve (REVA project), AI-powered clinical tools (notably iNav for pancreatic cancer detection processing 10,000+ imaging reports weekly across 28 hospitals), and an AI-driven wearable that predicts over 83% of unplanned ICU transfers up to 17 hours in advance. The institute holds over 250 patented or patent-pending innovations, publishes two open-access journals (Molecular Medicine with an 8.3 impact factor and Bioelectronic Medicine with a 6.8 impact factor), and its research directly led to the first FDA-approved vagus nerve stimulation device for rheumatoid arthritis (SetPoint Medical), first implanted in the U.S. at Northwell in August 2025.

Feinstein's revenue model is grant-funded rather than commercial: the institute competes for NIH, PCORI, NIMH, New York State Department of Health, and foundation awards (Lupus Research Alliance, Wellcome), supplemented by philanthropy and capital funding from New York State. Documented major grant inflows exceed $60M from 2021 through 2026, and the institute maintains licensing partnerships (e.g., SetPoint Medical) for commercialization while conducting over 5,000 clinical research studies and 110+ cancer clinical trials within Northwell's 28-hospital network. End beneficiaries are patients with inflammatory/autoimmune diseases, cancer, schizophrenia, paralysis, and other conditions where the institute develops pharmaceutical-alternative neuromodulation and AI-augmented diagnostics.

Name

Feinstein Institute for Medical Research

Legal name

Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research

Website

https://feinstein.northwell.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the nonprofit research arm of Northwell Health, operating 50 labs across six institutes to pioneer bioelectronic medicine, AI clinical diagnostics, and translational research, serving patients with inflammatory, autoimmune, neurological, and oncological conditions via Northwell's 28-hospital network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Biomedical Research Services

NAICS

Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Biomedical Research Universities (Academic Medical Center–Affiliated) (EDAHABAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Medical, Clinical & Biomedical Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAB), AI/ML Platforms for Drug Discovery & Experiment Optimization (HLAGAJAO), Academic & Scholarly Journals Publishing (Peer-Reviewed) (MPAJABAC)

Keywords

• Biomedical research
• Bioelectronic medicine
• Clinical trials
• Translational research
• Medical device licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Manhasset

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. NIH and Federal Research Grants: Primary revenue stream from competitive NIH grants supporting bioelectronic medicine research, with Dr. Kevin J. Tracey leading five-year grant exploring electronic devices to treat diseases via the nervous system.
2. State Government Funding: New York State grants including $3.6 million for spinal cord injury research and $10 million Long Island Investment Fund grant for laboratory construction.
3. Foundation Awards: Private foundation funding including $3 million Global Team Science Award from Lupus Research Alliance and $3.4 million from Wellcome for schizophrenia research.
4. Lab Renovation and Capital Funding: $35 million renovation of bioelectronic medicine lab in Manhasset supported by New York State funding including $10 million additional grant for second phase.
5. Federal Agency Grants: Grants from agencies including NIMH for mental health research ($4 million for AI speech analysis, $3.37 million for first responder resilience training).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research conducts biomedical and translational research across six research institutes (behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research), publishing more than 500 peer-reviewed papers annually and running over 5,000 active clinical research studies. It sells and licenses patented innovations (250+ patents) through its Office of Technology Transfer, publishes two open-access journals (Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine), and has developed AI-enabled clinical decision tools such as the iNav tool for pancreatic cancer detection.

Product overview

The Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research is the research arm of Northwell Health, encompassing six research institutes focused on behavioral science, bioelectronic medicine, cancer, health system science, molecular medicine, and translational research. The organization publishes two open-access journals (Molecular Medicine and Bioelectronic Medicine), operates clinical trials, and has developed the AI-powered iNav clinical tool for pancreatic cancer detection. Research programs include bioelectronic medicine development, sepsis and inflammation research, neurological disease studies, and autoimmune disorder investigations across 50 research labs with over 5,000 researchers and staff.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Molecular Medicine: Open-access international peer-reviewed journal published by the Feinstein Institutes in partnership with BioMed Central/Springer Nature
• Bioelectronic Medicine
• Ross Prize in Molecular Medicine
• Anthony Cerami Award in Translational Medicine

Products and services

• Molecular Medicine Journal An open-access, international peer-reviewed journal published by the Feinstein Institutes in partnership with BioMed Central/Springer Nature, focusing on disease pathogenesis research that leads to tools for diagnosis, treatment, or prevention. Achieved an all-time high impact factor of 8.3 (ranking 38th of 328 in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology).
• Bioelectronic Medicine Journal An open-access, international peer-reviewed journal published by the Feinstein Institutes in partnership with BioMed Central/Springer Nature, covering findings in bioelectronic medicine that combines molecular medicine, bioengineering, and neuroscience. Received its first-ever impact factor of 6.8 (ranking 23rd of 130 in Engineering, Biomedical).
• iNav AI Clinical Tool An AI-powered clinical decision tool that uses machine learning-based natural language processing to analyze MRI and CT scan reports across Northwell's 28-hospital network, flagging high-risk patients for pancreatic cancer detection earlier in the diagnostic pathway. Cuts pancreatic cancer diagnosis time from 12 days to 6 days and processes over 10,000 imaging reports weekly. Named to TIME's Best Inventions of 2024.
• Bioelectronic Medicine Research Program and Licensing Portfolio The global headquarters of bioelectronic medicine research, developing devices that read and modulate electrical activity within the body's nervous system. Vagus nerve stimulation technologies and related patented discoveries (250+ patents) are available for licensing through the Office of Technology Transfer to medical device and pharmaceutical companies for commercialization into FDA-approved therapies. The research underpinned SetPoint Medical's FDA-approved vagus nerve stimulation device for rheumatoid arthritis, first implanted in the U.S. at Northwell in August 2025.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI tool iNav cuts pancreatic cancer diagnosis time from 12 days to 6 days
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability5 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Lupus Research AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Collaborative funding program with Genentech awarding $150,000 per year for up to two years to scientists studying CAR-T cell therapy for lupus treatment. Funded projects explore immune reset mechanisms.
• GenentechcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 May 2026Joint funding partner with Lupus Research Alliance for Immune Resetting Therapies for Lupus award program studying CAR-T cell therapy approaches for durable lupus treatments.
• Stony Brook UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 November 2025Collaborating institution receiving $3.37 million NIMH grant for five-year clinical trial on Worker Resilience Training program for first responders across the United States.
• Texas A&M UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 November 2025Partner in $3.37 million NIMH-funded first responder mental health research alongside Stony Brook University, evaluating effectiveness of resilience training programs.
• Baylor College of MedicinecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2025Collaborating institution in $3.2 million NIH-funded research on polygenic embryo selection (PES), evaluating scientific accuracy and ethical implications of this IVF technology. Research involves comprehensive investigations and stakeholder surveys.
• Massachusetts General HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 October 2025Collaborating institution in NIH-funded polygenic embryo selection research alongside Baylor College of Medicine to assess validity of polygenic risk scores.
• ImeccoreTechnology or Integration · 15 April 2025Collaboration to develop advanced vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) techniques using $3 million NIH grant. Creating more precise and effective methods for targeting specific nerve fibers within the vagus nerve to treat chronic diseases linked to inflammation.
• Columbia University Zuckerman InstituteminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSeparate research collaboration on brain-controlled hearing system demonstrating selective voice isolation through neural focus signal decoding. Not directly Feinstein Institutes research.
• SetPoint MedicalcoreTechnology or IntegrationMedical device company that developed the FDA-approved vagus nerve stimulation device for rheumatoid arthritis based on Feinstein Institutes' research discoveries. Northwell Health performed first U.S. implantation in August 2025.
• University of PennsylvaniaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome institution of Dr. Carl H. June, 2026 Ross Prize co-recipient for pioneering CAR T-cell therapy development.
• Columbia UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome institution of Dr. Michel Sadelain, 2026 Ross Prize co-recipient for CAR T-cell therapy work.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Mayo Clinic: Academic medical center-affiliated research enterprise with similar integrated bench-to-bedside research model. Comparable scale of NIH-funded research, multi-specialty institutes, and translational clinical trials infrastructure.
• Massachusetts General Hospital Research Institute: Hospital-based biomedical research institute and existing Feinstein collaborator on the NIH-funded polygenic embryo selection study. Directly comparable in operating model, NIH funding scale, and translational research portfolio.
• Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Cancer-focused research enterprise integrated with a major New York-area hospital system. Directly comparable to Feinstein's Institute of Cancer Research with overlapping clinical trial scale and translational infrastructure.
• Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research Institute: Hospital-affiliated biomedical research institute within a large integrated health system. Closely comparable operating model to Feinstein as research arm of a major U.S. health system with similar translational pipeline.
• Scripps Research Institute: Independent biomedical research organization with comparable scale of NIH funding, peer-reviewed publication output, and translational research portfolio spanning immunology, neuroscience, and structural biology.
• Baylor College of Medicine: Academic medical research institution and active Feinstein collaborator on NIH-funded polygenic embryo selection research. Comparable in research breadth, NIH funding scale, and translational focus.
• Johns Hopkins Medicine Research: Academic medical center research enterprise with similar multi-institute structure, large NIH funding base, and integrated clinical trials infrastructure across a major hospital system.
• SetPoint Medical: Medical device company that commercialized Feinstein's vagus nerve stimulation research into the first FDA-approved VNS device for rheumatoid arthritis. Direct commercial partner and most comparable peer in the bioelectronic medicine category.
• Vanderbilt University Medical Center: Academic medical center research enterprise with comparable scale, biomedical research breadth, and NIH-funded portfolio spanning molecular medicine, neuroscience, and translational research.
• Gladstone Institutes: Independent biomedical research organization with comparable focus on disease-focused translational research, NIH funding scale, and patent/licensing output in cardiovascular, neuroscience, and immunology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/northwellhealth
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/nslijhs
• Facebookfacebook.com/northwellhealth
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-feinstein-institutes-for-medical-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/northwellhealth

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds20 records

Investors11 records

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Feinstein Institute for Medical Research