The Feinstein Institutes For Medical Research

The Feinstein Institutes For Medical Research, a tax-exempt non-profit organization headquartered in Manhasset, New York, operates as the research arm of Northwell Health and conducts biomedical research across immunology, neuroscience, psychiatry, and clinical translational medicine as a prime recipient of federal grants and a subrecipient on grant-funded research projects. The institute competes exclusively on full-and-open federal grant awards; all three cited federal contracts (a $6.8 million definitive contract from NIH Office of the Director for vagal anatomy reconstruction completed in 2025, a $281,434 FDA purchase order for clinical study services running through 2031, and a $21,361 NIEHS study contract on vitamin D and reproductive function completed in 2024) represent administrative contracting relationships rather than a competitive federal contracting footprint.

The Feinstein Institutes' research portfolio spans mechanistic and translational investigations across federal health agencies. Recent prime grant work includes $2.557 million from the National Institute on Aging (CFDA 93.866) to investigate extracellular cold-inducible RNA-binding protein as a driver of neurotoxic astrocytes in Alzheimer's disease pathogenesis; $698,456 from NIA to develop machine learning models identifying and predicting delirium in hospitalized older adults; $795,165 from the National Institute of Mental Health (CFDA 93.242) to investigate microRNAs in neural-derived extracellular vesicles as biomarkers in first-episode schizophrenia; $586,866 from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (CFDA 93.837) examining B-1a cells in acute lung injury; and $999,972 from the Defense Health Agency (CFDA 12.420) investigating urine macrophages in lupus nephritis. Work spans immunology, autoimmune disease mechanisms, psychiatric and neurological disorders, respiratory physiology, geriatric outcomes, and pediatric health. Performance occurs primarily at the Manhasset, New York headquarters with some work at subordinate sites within the Northwell Health system.

Customer concentration in recent years clusters heavily within the National Institutes of Health. The top five grantor agencies by award count—NIH overall (115 awards), NIH National Institute of Mental Health (54 awards), NIH National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (45 awards), NIH National Institute on Aging (29 awards), and NIH National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (28 awards)—account for 56% of all awards. The top customers by dollar value diverge slightly: NIH National Institute on Drug Abuse anchors the highest combined potential value at $33 million across 7 awards, followed by NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute ($8.5 million across 25 awards) and NIH Office of the Director ($6.8 million across 14 awards). This imbalance reflects both the size and number of awards—some institutes place many moderate-sized grants while others concentrate dollars in fewer, larger project grants.

The institute operates as a prime recipient on 354 awards (73% of the portfolio) and participates as a subrecipient on 131 federal grant sub-awards (27%), typically contributing specialized expertise in advanced analytical methods (single-cell RNA sequencing, neuroimaging analysis, spatial transcriptomics), clinical research site operations, or mechanistic investigation of disease processes. Recent sub-award work includes serving as the protocol chair for Immune Tolerance Network Clinical Trial ITN091AI; providing spatial transcriptomics and immunofluorescence support to Weill Cornell Medicine on the SCORCH consortium (HIV and substance use); conducting network analysis research on clinical high-risk psychosis populations as a sub-recipient to Yale University; and performing spectral cell sorting and flow cytometry analysis to support eight NIH-funded clinical and translational research projects through a $1.628 million equipment acquisition grant from NIH Office of the Director in 2025.

Activity has grown over the past five years: 21 awards in 2022 ramped to 65 in 2024, then moderated to 49 in 2025 and 36 in the first nine months of 2026. The institute faces 41 award completions within the next twenty-four months, representing potential recompete exposure on work spanning psychiatric biomarkers, autoimmune disease mechanisms, rehabilitation outcomes, and perinatal health research. SCI-reported invoicing of federal services contracts is minimal ($419 thousand in FY2022 across 10.7 FTEs, with no additional SCI reportable invoicing in subsequent years), reflecting the institute's primary positioning as a research grant recipient rather than a federal service contractor. Hourly rates on the small SCI prime footprint averaged $253.82/hr, consistent with academic research labor pricing.