NYU Grossman School of Medicine was founded in 1841 as the Medical College of New York University,[3] with an inaugural class of 239 students.

[6] The faculty and alumni of NYU Grossman School of Medicine have contributed to the control of tuberculosis, diphtheria, yellow fever, and sexually transmitted infections, as well as the development of vaccines for measles, rubella, hepatitis B, polio, and cancer; advances in the treatment and prevention of stroke and heart disease; and the introduction of minimally invasive surgical techniques.

[17] In 2010, the school introduced the Curriculum for the 21st Century, or C21, a new curriculum that affords students earlier and more frequent interaction with patients and new learning pathways with more opportunities for specialized training in areas best suited to their interests.

[17] NYU Grossman School of Medicine has 29 academic departments in the clinical and basic sciences.

The institute is named in honor of Jan T. Vilcek, M.D., Ph.D., professor emeritus of microbiology and a trustee of NYU Langone Health, who codeveloped the monoclonal antibody that is the basis for Remicade, a drug widely used to treat certain chronic inflammatory disorders.