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Rockefeller University

Breakthrough Prize

The Breakthrough Prizes honor important, primarily recent, achievements in the categories of Fundamental Physics, Life Sciences, and Mathematics. Five past winners of the Breakthrough Prize have been associated with the university.

Current Faculty and Emeriti

Jeffrey M. Friedman
2020 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
Friedman was honored for the discovery of a new endocrine system through which adipose tissue signals the brain to regulate food intake.
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C. David Allis
2015 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
Allis was recognized for the discovery of covalent modifications of histone proteins and their critical roles in the regulation of gene expression and chromatin organization.
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Richard P. Lifton
2014 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
Lifton was honored for the discovery of genes and biochemical mechanisms that cause hypertension.
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Titia de Lange
2013 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
de Lange was awarded for research on telomeres, illuminating how they protect chromosome ends and their role in genome instability in cancer.
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Cori Bargmann
2013 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences
Bargmann was honored for her work on the genetics of neural circuits and behavior, and synaptic guidepost molecules.
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About the Breakthrough Prize

The Breakthrough Prize, renowned as the “Oscars of Science,” recognizes the world’s top scientists. Prizes are presented in the fields of Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Mathematics.

Media Contact

Katherine Fenz
Media Relations Manager