The Albert Einstein College of Medicine celebrated the opening of one of their most vital additions.
After years of hard work and dedication, administrators, faculty members and distinguished guests gathered for a ribbon cutting to unveil the new Albert Einstein College of Medicine Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory on Friday, November 11 at 1225 Morris Park Avenue.
The new lab will help doctors, teachers, and students further understand how the brain function of individuals with disorders such as autism and childhood schizophrenia, differs from that of their typically-developing peers.
Construction and purchase of lab equipment was made possible through a $1 million capital grant that Senator Jeff Klein secured for the college in the 2009-2010 budget.
“There’s still so much that we need to learn about these particular brain disorders,” Klein said. “What the Bronx does best is health care and we need to continue to do it. During these tough economic times I think it’s our opportunity to redefine what our priorities are, making sure that wonderful Bronx institutions such as Einstein have the money that they need to continue to provide quality service.”
The 5,000-square-foot lab houses specially-designed rooms that allow researchers to control sound and other stimuli and the latest tools to monitor the responses of research participants and patients.
The grant helped the college purchase valuable equipment such as four high-density electroencephalogram, or EEG, recording systems, electrically-shielded sound attenuated booths, high-resolution eye-tracking systems, direct feed video and infrared cameras, stimulus delivery equipment, and a projection screen for visual experiments.
Dr. John Foxe, director of research at Einstein’s Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center and professor of pediatrics and neuroscience, was grateful for Klein’s efforts on behalf of the college.
“With this support, I was able to return to Einstein to lead an outstanding team of researchers and clinicians searching for the causes of and treatments for intellectual and developmental disorders,” said Foxe, who received his Ph.D. at Einstein. “The investment into this laboratory has brought an enormous return. With the efforts of Senator Klein, we are now able to put the best and the brightest to work.”
After the ribbon was cut, Klein and other guests were taken on a tour of the state-of-the-art facility. Klein was impressed with the work that students and physicians were putting into the new lab,.
College dean Dr. Allen Spiegel believes it will benefit the borough for years to come.
“Once again, Senator Klein has demonstrated his commitment to helping Einstein,” Spiegel said. “The Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab will ultimately help improve patient care.”
Reach Vito Signorile via e-mail at vsignorile@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 742-3383.
