News & HighlightsNews
Why studying how the immune system evolves could teach us much about evolution itself
Gabriel D. Victora's team has turned germinal centers into a living laboratory for one of biology's oldest questions: how much of evolution is shaped by chance?
How the body creates reliable antibodies out of biological chaos
A new study reveals how germinal centers produce powerful antibodies through noisy rounds of mutation and selection, offering new insight into vaccine design—and larger themes in evolution.
Researchers discover how to turn one germ's drug resistance into an Achilles' heel
One of the most common drug resistance mutations in tuberculosis creates subtle metabolic weaknesses that could be exploited with future combination therapies.
125 years of ‘science for the benefit of humanity’
President Lifton reflects on the university’s long history of innovation, why modern medicine would be unthinkable without basic science, and how the next wave of discoveries will shape the future.
Lecture series explores the future of science funding and policy   
The In Situ: Biology & Society series features expert panelists discussing how biomedical research intersects with policy, investment, and innovation.
How research assistant positions at Rockefeller help launch careers in science
The university’s Research Assistant Association, which holds its third annual poster session on May 20, is designed to build community and skills among its early-career scientists.
Svetlana Mojsov promoted to Research Professor
Svetlana Mojsov, whose research led to the development of revolutionary obesity drugs, has been promoted. She is now Rockefeller’s Lulu Chow Wang and Robin Chemers Neustein Research Professor.
The neural basis of thought symbols identified for the first time
The brain activity that occurs during the act of drawing reveals fundamental neural properties and has implications for the improvement of brain-computer interfaces and the study of brain disorders.
New genomic approaches uncover surprising cellular dynamics of the aging brain
Two techniques—one for optics-free spatial mapping of tissue organization and the other for the enrichment of rare cell types—offer new ways to study aging and disease.
How basic biology helps build better vaccines 
A deep understanding of how immune cells respond to infection could revolutionize vaccine design.
Researchers track the mutations that allow HIV-1 to escape broadly neutralizing antibodies
Study shows the most comprehensive view to date of how some viral strains develop drug resistance.
A hidden inheritance could explain disease risks beyond DNA
Lamia Wahba is studying how information outside the genetic code can pass between generations and what that means for evolution and disease.
Researchers capture an unprecedented view of gene transcription
RNA polymerase, the enzyme that synthesizes RNA from DNA during transcription, has been captured mid-reaction for the first time. The findings provide a universal blueprint for gene expression.
For musically inclined scientists, similarities between music and science yield benefits for both
Rockefeller musicians find joy in performing, but also community and inspiration in the creative practice.
Vanessa Ruta and Thomas Tuschl are elected to the National Academy of Sciences
The two scientists are the 35th and 36th members of Rockefeller's current faculty to be honored with membership in the prestigious academy founded by Abraham Lincoln.
Rockefeller Outreach shares insights on how to keep young students in science
More than a decade of data from the university’s RockEDU programs shows that persistence in STEM is driven by the systems that support students.
How cells turn mechanical forces into biochemical signals
The findings, which have implications for cancer and other diseases, resulted from capturing the first snapshot of a mechanical signaling complex in action.
New clues to hepatitis B species restriction could help build a novel model for studying infection and testing therapies
The study overturns decades-long assumptions about why HBV fails to infect mouse liver cells, pointing towards a new disease model.
Getting an unprecedented view of the molecular machines of life
Shixin Liu is pioneering new ways of studying the tiny proteins that copy and transcribe genetic code.
The antioxidant glutathione discovered to play a key role in proper protein folding
The findings may lead to new therapeutic interventions for certain types of neurodegeneration and cancers.
Programming the immune system to manufacture its own therapeutic proteins
By editing blood stem cells, researchers show that the immune system itself can be transformed into a durable, boostable source of therapeutic proteins—opening the door to novel treatments
Novel tool could identify new therapeutic targets in complex diseases like cancer
Researchers devised a platform for mapping the regulatory nodes where genetic variations converge to drive changes in cell behavior.
Symposium highlights SNFiRU's transition from incubator to engine
Three years in, the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Institute for Global Infectious Disease Research has matured into a working pipeline connecting basic science and emerging therapies.
A new mouse model of virus-driven liver cancer may open the door to better diagnosis and treatments
Researchers created the first mouse model in which chronic viral infection progresses to liver cancer, closely mirroring what happens in people with hepatitis C.
Three Rockefeller researchers chosen for the Biohub NY Immune Cell Reprogramming Program
The Rockefeller teams will map immune cell interactions, engineer cells as drug delivery systems, and activate immune responses in hard-to-treat cancers.
Studying two very different viruses is helping this virologist develop new strategies for more potent antiviral treatments
Theodora Hatziioannou used her expertise on HIV-1 to gain insights into SARS-Co-V-2, and vice versa. The potential applications of her insights could be much broader.
New club helps early career scientists explore the challenges and rewards of becoming an entrepreneur
The Rockefeller University Biotech Club is offering a series of talks, bringing in startup founders and industry experts to share their experience of turning lab discoveries into companies.
Key driver of long-term inflammatory memory identified
Researchers used a combination of wet lab research and deep machine learning to pinpoint distinct genetic sequences, work that could inform therapeutic strategies for chronic inflammation.
Microtubules discovered to play an active role in correctly distributing chromosomes during cell division
Long thought to serve as cellular scaffolding, microtubules also reshape the proteins that bind to them—guiding enzyme activity to prevent genetic errors linked to cancer.
How ants distinguish friend from foe
Researchers find that ants continually update their sense of nestmate identity and tolerance for outsiders, a discovery that opens the door to studying the neural circuits behind social recognition.
Most mass spectrometers can process just a few molecules at once. A reengineered prototype does a billion simultaneously
Researchers laid the groundwork for tools that could one day make high-throughput, comprehensive single-cell protein analysis routine.
Movie series debuts on campus
Grab some popcorn and soda in Carson Family Auditorium.
Researchers discover an epigenetic switch that could be targeted by new cancer therapies
Researchers were able to shut down certain malignancies by disabling a protein complex that regulates cell differentiation.
This tiny cellular portal could open vast possibilities for medicine
Michael Rout has spent decades studying the molecular machinery that controls all traffic in and out of the cell’s nucleus. His research could lead to new treatments for cancer and viral diseases.
New tracking tool reveals how T cells adapt in different organs
Researchers uncovered immune dynamics that may inform future therapies for infection, cancer, and autoimmunity.
Rockefeller expands professional development training
The university’s HR department launches a new feature on its centralized platform, which brings together digital tools, leadership training, and in-person learning.
Astronomer Chris Impey to receive 2026 Lewis Thomas Prize
The annual Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science was established by Rockefeller’s trustees in 1993. On March 9, Impey will be honored for his exploration of life’s origins, exoplanets, and humanity’s place in the universe in a ceremony on campus.
Theodora Hatziioannou promoted to research professor
In recognition of her outstanding contributions to the understanding and treatment of infections caused by the HIV-1 and SARS CoV-2 viruses, Theodora Hatziioannou has been promoted to research professor.
Two Rockefeller students are named Weintraub Award winners
Gabriella Chua, who did her Ph.D. research in Shixin Liu’s Laboratory of Nanoscale Biophysics, and Andrea Terceros, who did her Ph.D. research in Priya Rajasethupathy’s Skoler Horbach Family Laboratory of Neural Dynamics and Cognition, have been honored with a prize considered to be one of the mo...
Scientists map how aging reshapes cells across the entire mammalian body
Age-related changes in cells are synchronized across organs, suggesting common molecular signals that could be targeted with drugs.
A new method reveals hidden rules of gene control
A new cell-free genomics framework isolates the primary impacts of transcription factors and establishes tuberculosis as a model for understanding how genes are regulated.
Even during one of the city's coldest winters, our science never takes a snow day
As New York endured severe snowstorms and its coldest winter in decades, the Plant Operations team kept science moving at Rockefeller's historic campus.
Biomedical science in the age of AI 
AI holds enormous potential for the biomedical sciences. To get there, scientists are addressing challenges around trustworthiness, training data, and tool design.
A protein thought to play a supporting role in DNA replication actually facilitates the whole process
Scientists have discovered that a protein once thought to simply help load a factor necessary for the copying of DNA, actually plays a key role in ensuring fast and reliable replication—an insight that could inform research into cancer and other diseases.
In rare cases, autoantibodies can cause severe reactions to a live-attenuated virus Chikungunya vaccine that has been discontinued in the U.S.
A new study shows that preexisting autoantibodies in a small subset of the population can allow weakened vaccine viruses to escape control, explaining some adverse events tied to this one kind of Chikungunya vaccine, which is no longer available in the U.S.
Study on brain navigation reveals function of an unconventional electrical-signaling mode in neurons
New work in fruit flies uncovers an electrical trick that allows neurons to compute direction efficiently by juggling multiple signaling mechanisms. These findings could reframe our understanding of how some neurons operate.
The color of your fat could determine the level of your blood pressure
Scientists knew that obesity raises the risk of hypertension. Now Paul Cohen's team has uncovered the mechanism—and the enzyme—that explains how fat can stiffen blood vessels and drive blood pressure upward.
How beige fat keeps blood pressure in check
New study shows that beige fat suppresses an enzyme that promotes high blood pressure, revealing a new molecular pathway and a potential target for future precision therapies.
The publishing rules for NIH-supported research have changed. Here’s what to know
What is a scientist who wants to stay in the good graces of both federal funders and private publishers to do?
Scientists have gotten good at blocking enzymes to treat disease. Now can they speed them up?
Tarun Kapoor is tackling a deceptively tricky biochemical challenge: how to speed up the internal machinery of living cells.
How the brain creates facial expressions
New work demonstrates how neural circuits in the brain and muscles of the face work together to respond physically to social cues.
Physicist Konstantin Goulianos, professor emeritus, has died
Goulianos, a member of the Rockefeller community since 1971, was a renowned particle physicist who contributed to the discovery of fundamental building blocks of matter. He died Jan 2.
The value of publishing negative data
Scientific publishing has a bias against negative results and that hurts science, says Tim Fessenden, editor of Life Science Alliance, a publication of Rockefeller University Press. Here’s how journal editors can help.
Researchers identify gene that calms the mind and improves attention in mice
Study demonstrates that the Homer1 gene improves focus by reducing "noise" in the prefrontal cortex, with implications for the study of ADHD and other attention disorders.
Some mammals can hit pause on a pregnancy. Understanding how that happens could help us treat cancer.
New study reveals the molecular brake that lets embryonic stem cells enter suspended animation, while retaining the ability to develop normally—which could shed light on abnormal cell growth in humans.
New engineered derivative of a natural molecule could translate into a powerful replacement for IVIG therapy for a wide array of autoimmune disorders
In experiments with mice, the new molecule accomplished the same job at a hundredth of the dose.
What these scientists revealed about the structure of the T cell receptor could help resolve a decades-old debate over how T cells get activated
Researchers discovered new characteristics of a T cell receptor that’s essential to a variety of cutting-edge T cell immunotherapies.
This new insight into T cell receptors may improve cancer immunotherapies
Researchers discovered that a crucial first step in the signaling system operates differently than previously thought, an insight that could lead to the next generation of treatments.
Intriguing science discoveries of 2025
Across fields as diverse as evolution, mechanobiology, and antibiotic discovery, here are some of the intriguing discoveries that came out of Rockefeller in 2025.
This new, one-two punch could knock out drug-resistant TB
Researchers found that pairing the antibiotic rifampicin with a second compound turned multidrug resistance into a weakness—providing proof of concept for using basic science to design life-saving dual-drug strategies.
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