Scientists

The university's 72 current heads of laboratory continue a more than 100-year dedication to basic biological and biomedical research. Rockefeller's unique structure encourages scientists to follow the science wherever it leads, and the university's strong tradition of collaboration has led to the creation of whole new fields of scientific inquiry, including cell biology and protein chemistry. Topics of current investigation by Rockefeller scientists include the structural biology of host-pathogen interactions, HIV pathogenesis and vaccine design, the structure and function of the nuclear pore complex, the molecular biology of addictive diseases, the molecular basis of normal and abnormal neuronal signaling, bioinformatics and evolutionary genomics, the structure and mechanism of RNA polymerase and transcription machinery, RNA interference, apoptosis, epigenetics, neuronal birth and migration, olfaction and quantum field theory and string theory, among many others.