Mount Sinai Health System Launches Center for Light and Health Research
Center will explore light’s impact on patient’s health and bioengineering implications in ultraviolet disinfection and plant health
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai has launched a new center for research into light’s impact on health. The Mount Sinai Center for Light and Health Research in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy will expand on Mount Sinai’s research into light’s influence on mental and physical health, including burgeoning areas such as ultraviolet technology disinfection.
The clinical research conducted through the Center will investigate how to use light to improve people’s lives by stabilizing their circadian rhythms, the natural internal clock that regulates the body’s sleep-wake cycle. Researchers will study how light, either from daylight or electric indoor light, affects circadian rhythms in various populations, from the very young to the very old, including patients with COVID-19, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and other illnesses. The goal is to help abate symptoms and improve their sleep, mental health, and cognition.
Mariana Figueiro, PhD, has been recruited from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) to create and serve as Director of the Center. She headed the Lighting Research Center (LRC) at RPI in Troy, New York, and is an internationally known leader in light research and education. She began her career in architecture and started studying lighting in 1996, developing insights into how light impacts circadian rhythms and sleep and how it may affect diseases.
She has four multimillion-dollar grants, including a prestigious training grant, from the National Institutes of Health. She also has garnered loyal support from a wide range of industry sponsors.
Dr. Figueiro has brought 17 members of her team to join the new Mount Sinai Center, including Mark Rea, PhD, who served as LRC Director for almost 30 years, and is now a Professor of Population Health Science and Policy at Icahn Mount Sinai. He will serve as Associate Director and assist with setting up the center at Mount Sinai.
“We are really excited about bringing light as an adjunct therapy to many other therapies being used at Mount Sinai,” said Dr. Figueiro, who has also been appointed Professor of Population Health Science and Policy at Icahn Mount Sinai. “Many people take light for granted. Our work can improve all phases of patients’ lives from premature infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to the aging suffering from cognitive decline.”
Their expertise is in light and human health, energy efficiency, plant health and lighting, and safety in transportation such as outdoor lighting and lighting for emergency vehicles, passenger planes, and submarines. They hope to expand their research into other clinical areas as well as into using ultraviolet technology in sterilization, a technique that was elevated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Center will seamlessly combine basic science, clinical research, and bioengineering and design to bolster our knowledge of light’s impact on human health and safety,” said Annetine Gelijns, PhD, JD, Professor and Chair of Population Health Science and Policy at Icahn Mount Sinai. “Dr. Figueiro’s commitment to research, education, and administration is unique. She and her team will build on their scientific expertise and partner with the lighting industry to engineer technology for clinical and industrial applications and will forge public-private partnerships to support novel avenues of research.”
Mount Sinai’s existing team of light researchers, who are investigating how bright light therapy could help with cancer-related fatigue, sleep, and cognition in multiple myeloma and breast cancer patients, will also be members of the Center.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
