President
Paul Nurse

Rockefeller University Community

• 69 heads of laboratories
• 200 research and clinical scientists
• 350 postdoctoral investigators
• 1,050 support staff
• 150 Ph.D. students
• 50 M.D.-Ph.D. students
• 960 alumni
  
  

Areas of basic interdisciplinary research

• biochemistry, structural biology and chemistry
• molecular, cell and developmental biology
• immunology, virology and microbiology
• medical sciences and human genetics
• neuroscience
• physics and mathematical biology
  

Revolutionary accomplishments

Rockefeller University researchers achieved many of the last century’s seminal advances in the biomedical sciences, including:

• discovered that DNA is the basic material of heredity
• determined that cancer can be caused by a virus
• confirmed the connection between cholesterol and heart disease
• discovered blood groups and ways to preserve whole blood
• isolated and first successfully tested natural antibiotics
• developed meningitis vaccines used to fight epidemics around the world
• developed methadone maintenance therapy for people addicted to heroin
• developed the AIDS “cocktail” drug therapy
• showed that an adult brain of a higher species can form new nerve cells
• discovered an obesity gene and the weight-regulating hormone leptin
  

Sixty-nine laboratories form the university’s core

The university’s laboratory-based organizational structure “without walls” and pared-down layers of administration do away with the schools and academic departments that too often separate scientists. “This approach fosters a tremendously rich soup of interdisciplinary research and collaboration,” says Nobel laureate Günter Blobel, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator.

Acclaimed scientists

At present, the scientific staff at Rockefeller includes:

• 6 Nobel laureates, including President Paul Nurse
• 7 recipients of Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards
• 35 members of the National Academy of Sciences
• 3 recipients of MacArthur Foundation “genius grants”
• 2 recipients of the National Medal of Science
  

Throughout Rockefeller’s history, 23 of its scientists have won Nobel Prizes, 20 have won Lasker Awards and 13 have garnered the National Medal of Science, the highest science award given by the United States.

Partnerships with other leading institutions

Rockefeller has close ties with neighboring Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Additional academic partnerships with the Courant Institute of New York University and Bard College provide students with a rich array of training opportunities. Rockefeller forges collaborations with biotech and pharmaceutical companies as needed to speed research findings into development to improve patient care.

Clinical research hospital

In 1910, Rockefeller scientists founded the nation’s first hospital devoted exclusively to experimental medicine. The Rockefeller University Hospital’s only patients are participants in clinical trials building on basic research findings from Rockefeller labs. Unburdened by constraints of standard patient care, the hospital is a vital component of Rockefeller’s commitment to accelerating basic research findings on their route from bench to bedside for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease. Studies are under way on AIDS/ HIV, obesity, hepatitis C and addictive diseases.

More than science

Artistic and intellectual activity flourishes on Rockefeller’s campus. The verdant grounds, situated on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, boast a world-class art collection. The university regularly hosts events designed to explore the intuitive connection between science and the arts. Weekly and monthly recital series grace the university’s spectacular auditorium, and a variety of exhibits regularly take shape on campus.

Select graduate student body

A class of Ph.D. and M.D.-Ph.D. students from across the United States and the world works closely with international faculty in a rigorous, highly personalized program of graduate study and research. The university offers graduate students access and opportunities to work with leading scientists, as well as full financial support and affordable on- and off-campus housing.

University budget

Funding the research studies of The Rockefeller University’s scientists are the National Institutes of Health and other government agencies, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, private gifts and endowment income.

Clinical concerns under study