The Hebrew Home's Research Division and National Alzheimer Center are at the forefront of elder care research, committed to improving the quality of life for residents and clients with Alzheimer's and their caregivers. Founded in the mid-1980s, the Research Division is internationally known for its contributions to long term health care. Funded by grants from both the federal and state governments and from foundations. The Research Division is uniquely positioned to develop new approaches to address the needs of the elderly.

The staff includes consultants and investigators from universities and state agencies including Columbia , Cornell, Einstein , New York University, Mount Sinai , and the New York State Department of Health. In addition, the division collaborates with numerous outside agencies and has been the coordinating center for ten studies on special dementia care funded by the National Institute of Aging.

The Research Division received funding from the NYS Department of Health and from numerous federal agencies, including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, National Institute of Health (NIH), the Agency for Healthcare, Research and Quality.

The Research Division produced an award-winning training video sponsored by a grant from the New York State Department of Health titled, "Freedom of Sexual Expression: Dementia and Resident Rights in Long Term Care Facilities." The training video has received national media attention. The Research Division also produced a training program on Resident-to-Resident Elder Mistreatment.

Staff members of the Research Division have served on the editorial boards of several journals including The Gerontologist, and have co-edited a special issue of Alzheimer's Disease and Associated Disorders: An International Journal, The Journal of Mental Health and Aging, and Medical Care. Staff members have published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals.

The Research Division is also affiliated with the National Institutes of Health, Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR), and Excellence in Partnerships for Community Outreach, Research on Health Disparities and Training (EXPORT), both multi-site projects which seek to reduce health care disparities between minority and non-minority older adults.         

Members of the Research Division are frequent presenters at national and International conferences. Topics of investigation include: epidemiology of dementia, depression and vision disorders; impacts of programs such as primary care nursing and special dementia care units; development and evaluation of staff training programs regarding recognition of depression; methods for increasing functional vision, and methods for reducing behavioral disorders.