Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Launches New Educational Curriculum
ASCEND curriculum elevates medical education and training with a reimagined, dynamic, and inclusive educational experience that prepares students for an evolving health care landscape
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, a top ranked medical school in the U.S., known for its strong culture of innovation and scholarship, is launching a re-envisioned curriculum for MD students. The curriculum, named ASCEND, will aim to transform the acquisition of knowledge while retaining the school’s tradition of early immersion in scholarly opportunities.
Icahn Mount Sinai, ranked No. 13 nationwide in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and among the 99th percentile in research dollars per investigator, has established one of the most robust and expansive training and research footprints in the nation. The ASCEND curriculum builds on this legacy of clinical excellence and research discovery.
Rainier P. Soriano, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Curricular Affairs at Icahn Mount Sinai, emphasizes the proactive nature of ASCEND: “ASCEND is designed to navigate the abundance of information available, teaching students to discern and absorb what's crucial at the moment it's needed most. Students become active partners in their education journey and are encouraged to dive deep in their learning experiences.”
ASCEND commences with BaseCamp, an introductory week of acclimation and immersion, followed by a foundational module that lays down essential scientific and clinical skills. The curriculum then advances to organ systems-based blocks, offering a comprehensive exploration of the human body and its functions. “This sequential learning enhances students' understanding of how body systems interconnect and function cohesively, and the impact when they do not,” adds Dr. Soriano.
Central to ASCEND are areas of curricular concentration designed to augment the core curriculum with a focus on the following: scientific and scholarly discovery; advocacy, social justice, and anti-oppression; health care delivery science; and, leadership and professional identity formation.
A cornerstone of ASCEND is the rapid integration of students into scholarly activities, offering them the opportunity to engage in research and scholarship early in their education. “Introducing students to scholarship early on equips them with a crucial understanding of how academic research and clinical practice intertwine, enriching their learning experience and laying a strong foundation for their professional and career development,” Dr. Soriano elaborates.
Notably, ASCEND’s Practice of Medicine module introduces students to longitudinal clinical mentorship from the outset, ensuring the development of clinical competence over the four years of medical education. “This initiative is about more than just knowledge transfer; it's about fostering a profound, lasting grasp of medical practice. ASCEND ensures continuous clinical mentorship, supporting students' growth and competency development from day one,” says Dr. Soriano.
Dr. Soriano contrasts his medical school experience with ASCEND’s approach to mentorship: “Reflecting on my experience, relationships with my teachers were transient. ASCEND changes that by assigning a dedicated mentor to each student right from the start, fostering a lasting and meaningful clinical mentor-mentee relationship that enhances the learning experience in which our faculty mentors can actually grow with their students. And in this way the partnership becomes that much more powerful.”
David C. Thomas, MD, MS, MHPE, Dean for Medical Education and Chair of the Department of Medical Education, agrees. “The ASCEND curriculum has been embraced within the Mount Sinai community as a vehicle to propel the school’s highest of standards for teaching and learning, scholarship, innovation, mentorship, collaboration, and professionalism—and it builds on the institution’s legacy of social justice and service to the East Harlem community.”
To learn more about ASCEND, visit https://icahn.mssm.edu/education/medical/program
About the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is internationally renowned for its outstanding research, educational, and clinical care programs. It is the sole academic partner for the eight- member hospitals* of the Mount Sinai Health System, one of the largest academic health systems in the United States, providing care to a large and diverse patient population.
Ranked 13th nationwide in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding and among the 99th percentile in research dollars per investigator according to the Association of American Medical Colleges, Icahn Mount Sinai has a talented, productive, and successful faculty. More than 3,000 full-time scientists, educators, and clinicians work within and across 44 academic departments and 36 multidisciplinary institutes, a structure that facilitates tremendous collaboration and synergy. Our emphasis on translational research and therapeutics is evident in such diverse areas as genomics/big data, virology, neuroscience, cardiology, geriatrics, as well as gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
Icahn Mount Sinai offers highly competitive MD, PhD, and Master’s degree programs, with current enrollment of approximately 1,300 students. It has the largest graduate medical education program in the country, with more than 2,000 clinical residents and fellows training throughout the Health System. In addition, more than 550 postdoctoral research fellows are in training within the Health System.
A culture of innovation and discovery permeates every Icahn Mount Sinai program. Mount Sinai’s technology transfer office, one of the largest in the country, partners with faculty and trainees to pursue optimal commercialization of intellectual property to ensure that Mount Sinai discoveries and innovations translate into healthcare products and services that benefit the public.
Icahn Mount Sinai’s commitment to breakthrough science and clinical care is enhanced by academic affiliations that supplement and complement the School’s programs.
Through the Mount Sinai Innovation Partners (MSIP), the Health System facilitates the real-world application and commercialization of medical breakthroughs made at Mount Sinai. Additionally, MSIP develops research partnerships with industry leaders such as Merck & Co., AstraZeneca, Novo Nordisk, and others.
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai is located in New York City on the border between the Upper East Side and East Harlem, and classroom teaching takes place on a campus facing Central Park. Icahn Mount Sinai’s location offers many opportunities to interact with and care for diverse communities. Learning extends well beyond the borders of our physical campus, to the eight hospitals of the Mount Sinai Health System, our academic affiliates, and globally.
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* Mount Sinai Health System member hospitals: The Mount Sinai Hospital; Mount Sinai Beth Israel; Mount Sinai Brooklyn; Mount Sinai Morningside; Mount Sinai Queens; Mount Sinai South Nassau; Mount Sinai West; and New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with 48,000 employees working across eight hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, more than 600 research and clinical labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time—discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 9,000 primary and specialty care physicians and 11 free-standing joint-venture centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida. Hospitals within the System are consistently ranked by Newsweek’s® “The World’s Best Smart Hospitals, Best in State Hospitals, World Best Hospitals and Best Specialty Hospitals” and by U.S. News & World Report's® “Best Hospitals” and “Best Children’s Hospitals.” The Mount Sinai Hospital is on the U.S. News & World Report® “Best Hospitals” Honor Roll for 2024-2025.
For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.