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Campus News

The Rockefeller University releases statement concerning Knut Wittkowski

The opinions that have been expressed by Knut Wittkowski, discouraging social distancing in order to hasten the development of herd immunity to the novel coronavirus, do not represent the views of The Rockefeller University, its leadership, or its faculty.
Biosafety Level 3
Science News

Rockefeller scientists launch a broad range of studies into novel coronavirus

Over 130 scientists in 18 labs are conducting research to advance the development of new, urgently needed approaches for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19.
Elaine Fuchs portrait
Awards and Honors, Campus News

Elaine Fuchs awarded 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award for Biomedical Science

Fuchs, a world leader in the study of skin biology, is being recognized for revealing the molecular mechanisms by which skin stem cells make and repair tissues.
Phase separation
Science News

How skin cells embark on a swift yet elaborate death

Scientists have identified the mechanism that allows skin cells to sense changes in their environment, and very quickly respond to reinforce the skin's outermost layer. The findings provide insight into how errors in this process might lead to skin conditions like psoriasis.  
Turtle ants
Science News

Research on soldier ants reveals that evolution can go in reverse

Turtle ant soldiers and their oddly-shaped heads suggest that evolution is not always a one-way street toward increasing specialization.
Paul Muller
Awards and Honors, Campus News

Paul Muller wins 2020 Weintraub Graduate Student Award

Muller receives the honor for his examination of the interactions between neurons in the intestinal tract, known as enteric neurons, and intestinal macrophages, a kind of immune cell.
Rockefeller's new boiler
Campus News

Rockefeller gets a new, more efficient boiler

With the aid of a mobile crane and a crew of around 20, a fully assembled Cleaver Brooks Fire Tube boiler was delivered into the university’s Power House. This winter, after months of work to plumb, wire, and test the machine, it was lit for the first time and began providing heat to Rockefeller ...
Illustration by Tiahua Mao
Seek Magazine

When zombies take over the brain 

Research on Parkinson’s has taken a surprising twist. A group of neurons long assumed to expire in the disease were recently found to not be dead after all—providing a possible explanation for how the condition worsens.
Image of a medicine bottle
Science News

Rockefeller grants commercial license for the development of new HIV drugs

The novel compounds are based on so-called broadly neutralizing antibodies, molecules that make rare people's immune systems capable of fighting HIV. They could potentially yield new treatment and prevention approaches benefitting people around the world, including in developing countries.
Campus News

The Tri-Institutional Therapeutics Discovery Institute renews partnerships with Takeda and Bridge Medicines

The renewal allows Rockefeller faculty to continue transforming their discoveries into new medicines.
Calcium signaling
Science News
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In Brief

Neuron-like activity detected in an unforeseen place

Scientists have identified a particular type of skin cell that looks and behaves similar to a nerve cell, prompting new questions about the body's biggest organ.
Biosafety Level 3 (BSL3) laboratory
Campus News

New BSL-3 lab to advance research on pathogens

Rockefeller researchers studying the tuberculosis bacterium now have access to a state-of-the-art biosafety level 3 laboratory on campus. The new facility is one of only a small handful in New York City.
Photo of Jasmine Nirody
Seek Magazine

Becoming a Scientist: Jasmine Nirody 

She’s the physicist whose love of locomotion became a research topic, and a career.
Kivanç Birsoy portrait
Awards and Honors, Campus News

Kivanç Birsoy receives 2020 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise

Birsoy is honored for his research examining how metabolic pathways regulate biological processes and contribute to disease.
Campus News

Rockefeller joins tri-institutional Ph.D. program in computational biology

Data analysis is becoming increasingly important in all fields of science. In joining the program, Rockefeller will connect with a stream of talented students focused on computational problems.
Human cell infected by CMV
Science News

Patient with unusually severe infection leads scientists to a rare type of immune deficiency

A rare genetic change may explain why some people die from cytomegalovirus, a stealth pathogen that is often asymptomatic.
Erich Jarvis speaking to high school students in Caspary Auditorium.
Campus News

Erich D. Jarvis speaks with high-school students about the evolution of speech and diversity in science

On a recent Saturday, over 400 teens crowded into Caspary Auditorium to hear Jarvis’s 2020 Talking science seminar, “Singing in the Brain: A Personal Science Journey.”
Image of lysosomes
Science News

Small containers inside cells might offer new targets for cancer treatment

For reasons that have long been unclear, cells stop dividing when the pH rises inside tiny cellular compartments called lysosomes. Now scientists have found an explanation for this phenomenon, with potential implications for drug development.
Leslie B. Vosshall
Awards and Honors, Campus News

Leslie B. Vosshall to receive Pradel Research Award

The National Academy of Sciences announced that Vosshall will receive the honor for her research on how mosquitoes seek out and bite human hosts.
neuronal activity in a zebrafish brain
Science News

How decisions unfold in a zebrafish brain

Tracking neuronal activity in a zebrafish brain, researchers can predict when the fish will flip its tail and to which direction, left or right.
Image of cancer cells
Seek Magazine

How to starve a tumor 

Scientists are learning how tumor cells’ nutritional needs differ from those of normal cells. Will their work help launch the next genre of cancer therapies?
Small intestine
Science News

Scientists examine how a gut infection may produce chronic symptoms

For some unlucky people, a bout of intestinal distress like traveler’s diarrhea leads to irritable bowel syndrome. Recent discoveries have given scientists a better idea of how this happens, and potential leads for new treatments.
Bruce McEwen portrait
Campus News

Neuroscientist Bruce McEwen, who studied the impact of stress on the brain, has died

A pioneer in neuroendocrinology, McEwen’s work on how the brain changes throughout life has profound implications for public health. He died on January 2, at age 81.
Fruit fly sperm
Science News

Insects on a diet, zombie neurons, and other memorable science stories of 2019

Rockefeller researchers accomplished a lot this year. We look back at 12 of the most exciting science stories of 2019.
Area PITd is connected to attentional network
Science News

A surprising new source of attention in the brain

Scientists find a new brain area in control of our attention skills, raising new questions in what has long been considered a settled scientific field.
B cells in germinal centers
Science News

New clues about why a universal flu vaccine is so elusive

To scientists' surprise, the immune system develops its response to each virus variant mostly from scratch, instead of building on what it has already learned.
Wilms tumor
Science News

Researchers discover a new mechanism in childhood kidney cancer

A problem in reader proteins that identify which gene is up for expression may cause normal cells to turn malignant during development.
Clara Lynch
Campus News

Collaborative Research Center installation bridges past and present scientists

A new digital display, the Scientist Explorer, is a portal into the cumulative accomplishments of researchers with labs in Flexner and Smith Halls.
Hippocampus microscopy
Science News

Scientists develop new method that predicts vulnerability to stress

Researchers have identified a set of biological factors in mice that seem to determine one's ability to bounce back from a traumatic event, and provide preliminary evidence that a naturally-occurring substance may help boost resiliency in the face of stressful situations.
Campus News

Five-year strategic plan is approved by Board of Trustees

Here are the main priorities of the new plan, intended to maximize the university’s scientific impact through 2024.
Nerve cells without PI31
Science News

Neurodegenerative diseases may be caused by molecular transportation failures inside neurons

Protein clumps are routinely found in the brains of patients with neurodegenerative diseases. Now researchers find a link between this buildup and the intracellular movement of proteasomes, molecular machines tasked with degrading protein waste inside cells.
Madeleine Delbeau and Hande Boyaci
Campus News

A summer program that gives undergraduates the tools to ask big scientific questions

Madeleine Delbeau, who spent 10 weeks in the lab of Seth A. Darst, improves a method for cryo-electron microscopy.
Zoran Jankovic
Campus News

Zoran Jankovic, a member of the Nussenzweig lab for nearly two decades, dies at 60

Zoran Jankovic, known for his generous spirit and unassuming manner, worked in the Nussenzweig lab for nearly 20 years.
Science News
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In Brief

Study sheds new light on how epigenetic events might spur disease

Research that began with the analysis of two developmental syndromes ultimately helped scientists understand how diverse epigenetic mechanisms can combine to drive tissue overgrowth in cancer.
dopamine neurons
Science News

The pathway to Parkinson’s takes a surprising twist

A new study finds that neurons affected in Parkinson’s disease can shut down without fully dying, allowing them to also switch off neighboring cells. The findings might give scientists a better understanding of how the condition wreaks havoc in the brain, as well as ideas for new treatments.
hair follicle
Science News

Lymphatic system found to play key role in hair regeneration

To grow new hair, stem cells throughout the skin must work in sync. Researchers have discovered the molecular communication tool, part of the lymphatic system, that the cells use to synchronize their activities.  
Chicken Milanese served in the Abby Dining Room
Campus News

The Abby Dining Room turns a page

Earlier this month, the Abby reopened with table service, libations, and new menus.
Xiaowei Zhuang
Campus News

Xiaowei Zhuang will receive the 2019 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize

Zhuang, who pioneered the development of super-resolution and genome-scale imaging techniques, will be given the prize during a ceremony on the Rockefeller campus on November 19.
human papilloma virus
Science News

Study pinpoints rare genetic change that may boost risk of HPV-related illness

The human papilloma virus is usually kept in check by the immune system, but scientists identified a genetic variant that makes some infected children prone to developing warts in the throat.
C. David Allis
Campus News, Awards and Honors

C. David Allis elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Allis, whose pioneering research established that enzymes that modify histone proteins, which package DNA in the nucleus, regulate gene expression, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Army ant bivouac in cathedral shape. Photograph by Daniel Kronauer.
Campus News

Biologist and ant paparazzo Daniel Kronauer recognized in Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

An expert on ant biology, Kronauer found himself in the right place at the right time to capture a cathedral-shaped bivouac, or ants’ nest, in Costa Rica. The photo is now part of an international exhibit by the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition.
Dividing cell
Science News

Research on cell division provides new clues to how a common cancer treatment works

In studying cell division, scientists happened upon a new way of understanding how a chemotherapy compound works. The findings could make it possible to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from the drug.
Emily Lorenzen and Thomas Sakmar
Science News

Shapeshifting receptors may explain mysterious drug failures

Scientists have found that many receptors with high potential for drug discovery take a different configuration inside the body than in the test tube. The findings could explain why some promising drugs fail in clinical trials, and potentially open doors to new drug-development approaches.
Pile of Microcentrifuge Tubes - Medical Plastic
Campus News

Tips for a greener lab

Even the most routine scientific experiment may come with a hefty environmental footprint. Here are several best practices to reduce waste, save energy, and cultivate more planet-friendly lab habits.
Vanessa Ruta portrait
Awards and Honors, Campus News

Vanessa Ruta named a 2019 MacArthur Fellow

Ruta, who investigates how the brain is modified by experience, has received a MacArthur Fellowship, an award intended to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations.
Neuruloid system
Science News
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In Brief

Study gives clues to the origin of Huntington’s disease, and a new way to find drugs

Using a new technique to study brain development, scientists were able to trace the causes of Huntington's back to early developmental stages when the brain has only just begun to form.
Jeff Friedman
Awards and Honors, Campus News

Jeffrey M. Friedman to receive 2020 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences

Friedman's discovery of the hormone leptin has transformed our understanding of obesity.
SNF-DR River Campus Dedication to Discovery
Campus News

Recent donations establish centers for computational science and for metabolism, and renew resources for faculty recruitment

The university’s Campaign for Transforming Biomedicine—which raised $1.17 billion over eight years—closed this summer with a bang: three significant capstone gifts, made in the campaign’s final months, to directly support Rockefeller science.
Photo of Priya
Seek Magazine

Becoming a Scientist: Priya Rajasethupathy 

Memories are inherently shifty. A neuroscientist with a new lab of her own, Rajasethupathy likens the brain’s memory function to Wikipedia—always evolving, occasionally unreliable.
Fruit fly sperm
Science News

From the tiny testes of flies, new insight into how genes arise

A common birthplace of new genes, the male testes are a hotspot for biological innovation. Within these organs, scientists have found a trove of virgin genetic sequences—and a better understanding of how evolution moves forward.
Kidney cells
Science News

Findings shed new light on why Zika causes birth defects in some pregnancies

Researchers have shown that antibodies against Zika might be involved in causing birth defects in babies born to infected women. The findings might provide important caveats for the development of a vaccine.
CMG helicase structure
Science News

With tiny technological tweezers, researchers uncover new aspects of cell division

Cell division is critical to creating and sustaining life. It’s also incredibly difficult to study. Now, advanced technology is enabling researchers to take their understanding of this process to the next level.
Brivanlou Illustration
Seek Magazine

Interview: Ali H. Brivanlou 

With science constantly advancing, ethical boundaries need regular recalibration. It’s a task scientists cannot do alone, says Brivanlou; all of society needs to engage.
Photo of RNA
Science News

Exploring genetic “dark matter,” researchers gain new insights into autism and stroke

For the brain to function smoothly, its cells must carefully regulate which proteins are produced and when. By studying gene regulation, researchers are now shedding light on complex brain conditions like autism and stroke.
Seek illustration
Science News

Fruit flies find their way by setting navigational goals

Navigating fruit flies do not have the luxury of GPS, but they do have a kind of neural compass. In a new study, researchers found that the animals decide which way to turn by comparing this internal compass needle to a fixed goal.
Campus News

David Rockefeller Fellowships awarded to graduate students Stephanie Marcus and Zachary Mirman

The fellowships recognize their research and leadership within the student community.
Sebastian Klinge
Campus News

Sebastian Klinge promoted to associate professor

Klinge studies the mechanisms by which ribosomes—the intricate machines that manufacture every cell’s proteins—are assembled.
A potentiator (orange) binds to a protein “hotspot”
Science News

Hinge-like protein may open new doors in cystic fibrosis treatment

Drugs known as potentiators alleviate some symptoms of cystic fibrosis. Researchers recently figured out how these compounds work—a finding that may lead to better drugs that patients can more easily afford.
Mitchell J. Feigenbaum
Campus News

Celebrating and remembering Mitchell Feigenbaum, physicist who pioneered chaos theory

A mathematical physicist, Feigenbaum's groundbreaking work on deterministic chaos influenced fields ranging from cardiology to cartography. He died on June 30, at age 74.
3D epiblast
Science News

Three-dimensional model illuminates key aspects of early development

Researchers have created a new 3D model of human embryonic tissue that promises to shed light on critical components of development—including processes that go awry during pregnancy complications.
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