The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical

research Research is " creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness ...

and graduate-only university in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and

postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

education. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity." Rockefeller is the oldest biomedical research institute in the United States. In 2018, the faculty included 82 tenured and tenure-track members, including 37 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 17 members of the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Eng ...

, seven

Lasker Award The Lasker Awards have been awarded annually since 1945 to living persons who have made major contributions to medical science or who have performed public service on behalf of medicine. They are administered by the Lasker Foundation, which was ...

recipients, and five Nobel laureates. As of March 2022, a total of 26 Nobel laureates have been affiliated with Rockefeller University. The university is located on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, between 63rd and 68th streets on

York Avenue York Avenue and Sutton Place are the names of a relatively short north-south thoroughfare in the Yorkville, Lenox Hill, and Sutton Place neighborhoods of the East Side of Manhattan, in New York City. York Avenue runs from 59th to 92nd Streets ...

. Richard P. Lifton became the university's eleventh president on September 1, 2016. The Rockefeller University Press publishes the ''

Journal of Experimental Medicine ''Journal of Experimental Medicine'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by Rockefeller University Press that publishes research papers and commentaries on the physiological, pathological, and molecular mechanisms that encompass th ...

'', the ''

Journal of Cell Biology The ''Journal of Cell Biology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Rockefeller University Press. History In the early 1950s, a small group of biologists began to explore intracellular anatomy using the emerging technology of ele ...

'', and ''

The Journal of General Physiology ''Journal of General Physiology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Rockefeller University Press. The journal covers biological, chemical, or physical mechanisms of broad physiological significance. The major emphasis is on physiol ...

''.

History

FDR Drive under Rockefeller Univ 5BBT 2013 jeh

The Rockefeller University was founded in June 1901 as The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research—often called simply The Rockefeller Institute—by

John D. Rockefeller John Davison Rockefeller Sr. (July 8, 1839 – May 23, 1937) was an American business magnate and philanthropist. He has been widely considered the wealthiest American of all time and the richest person in modern history. Rockefeller was ...

, who had founded the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1889, upon advice by his adviser Frederick T. Gates and action taken in March 1901 by his son,

John D. Rockefeller Jr John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...

.Swingle AM
"The Rockefeller chronicle"
''Hopkins Medical News''. Fall 2002. Greatly elevating the prestige of American science and medicine, it was America's first biomedical institute, like France's

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines ...

(1888) and Germany's

Robert Koch Institute The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a German federal government agency and research institute responsible for disease control and prevention. It is located in Berlin and Wernigerode. As an upper federal agency, it is subordinate to the Federa ...

(1891).

The Rockefeller Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...

, a philanthropic organization, founded in 1913, is a separate entity, but had close connections mediated by prominent figures holding dual positions. The first director of laboratories was

Simon Flexner Simon Flexner, M.D. (March 25, 1863 in Louisville, Kentucky – May 2, 1946) was a physician, scientist, administrator, and professor of experimental pathology at the University of Pennsylvania (1899–1903). He served as the first director ...

, who supervised the development of research capacity at the institute, whose staff made major discoveries in basic research and medicine. While a student at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

, Flexner had studied under the institute's first scientific director,

William H. Welch William Henry Welch (April 8, 1850 – April 30, 1934) was an American physician, pathologist, bacteriologist, and medical-school administrator. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.Herbert Gasser. He was succeeded in 1953 by Detlev Bronk, who broadened The Rockefeller Institute into a university that began awarding the PhD degree in 1954. In 1965 The Rockefeller Institute's name was changed to The Rockefeller University. For its first six decades, the institute focused on

basic research Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied rese ...

to develop

basic science Basic research, also called pure research or fundamental research, is a type of scientific research with the aim of improving scientific theories for better understanding and prediction of natural or other phenomena. In contrast, applied researc ...

, on applied research as

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare purposes (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic). BME is also traditionally logical sciences ...

, and, since 1910—when The Rockefeller Hospital opened on its campus as America's first facility for

clinical research Clinical research is a branch of healthcare science that determines the safety and effectiveness ( efficacy) of medications, devices, diagnostic products and treatment regimens intended for human use. These may be used for prevention, treatm ...

—on clinical science. The Rockefeller Hospital's first director

Rufus Cole Rufus is a masculine given name, a surname, an Ancient Roman cognomen and a nickname (from Latin ''rufus'', "red"). Notable people with the name include: Given name Politicians * Rufus Ada George (born 1940), Nigerian politician * Rufus A ...

retired in 1937 and was succeeded by Thomas Milton Rivers. As director of The Rockefeller Institute's virology laboratory, he established

virology Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, th ...

as an independent field apart from

bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classificat ...

. In the 1940s, it hosted a "scientific team that overturned medical dogma" and "became the first to demonstrate that

gene In biology, the word gene (from , ; "... Wilhelm Johannsen coined the word gene to describe the Mendelian units of heredity..." meaning ''generation'' or ''birth'' or ''gender'') can have several different meanings. The Mendelian gene is a b ...

s were made of DNA."

Rockefeller family

Rockefeller Sr visited the university just once, at the urging of Rockefeller Jr, who was enthusiastic about the institute. Rockefeller Jr and his youngest son David visited more often.Arenson KW
"Turning 90, a Rockefeller ''gives'' the presents"
''New York Times'', June 9, 2005.

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...

joined the board of trustees in 1940, was its chairman from 1950 to 1975, chaired the board's executive committee from 1975 to 1995, became honorary chairman and life trustee, and remained active as a philanthropist until his death.

Institutional changes

Rockefeller Institute Hospital was renamed Rockefeller University Hospital.

Organization and administration

Governance

*More than 80 heads of laboratories *200 research and clinical scientists *350 postdoctoral investigators *1,050 clinicians, technicians, administrative and support staff To foster an interdisciplinary atmosphere among its laboratories, faculty members are grouped into one or more of ten interconnecting research areas:

Academics

Graduate degree programs

Rockefeller University admitted its first graduate students in 1955. Today, about 255 graduate students are enrolled in the program, which offers doctoral degrees in the biomedical sciences, chemistry, and biophysics. The university's organization on the basis of laboratories rather than a hierarchical departmental structureFrom Institute to University: A Brief History of The Rockefeller University, 1985
pp. 13
extends to the graduate program, where laboratory research is the primary focus and students can meet degree requirements by participating in any combination of courses. In partnership with neighboring

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

and

Weill Cornell Medicine The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

, Rockefeller participates in the

Tri-Institutional MD–PhD Program The Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program is an MD-PhD program based in New York City that was formed by combining earlier MD-PhD programs that had their inceptions in 1972. The current version of the program, which is operated by Weill Cornell Medicin ...

as well as a Tri-Institutional chemical biology Ph.D. program.

Contemporary research

Rockefeller ranks highly in the

CWTS Leiden Ranking The CWTS Leiden Ranking is an annual global university ranking based exclusively on bibliometric indicators. The rankings are compiled by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies ( Dutch: ''Centrum voor Wetenschap en Technologische Studies ...

, an international ranking of research impact. Rockefeller faculty have made contributions to breakthroughs in biomedical sciences.

Michael W. Young Michael Warren Young (born March 28, 1949) is an American biologist and geneticist. He has dedicated over three decades to research studying genetically controlled patterns of sleep and wakefulness within ''Drosophila melanogaster''. At Rock ...

was one of several scientists who located genes that regulate the sleep–wake cycle in 1984. In 1994, Jeffrey M. Friedman’s laboratory discovered leptin, a gene that influences appetite and weight. Charles David Allis helped identify the first enzyme that modifies

histone In biology, histones are highly basic proteins abundant in lysine and arginine residues that are found in eukaryotic cell nuclei. They act as spools around which DNA winds to create structural units called nucleosomes. Nucleosomes in turn a ...

s in 1996, providing early evidence that the DNA packaging material plays a crucial role in

gene regulation Regulation of gene expression, or gene regulation, includes a wide range of mechanisms that are used by cells to increase or decrease the production of specific gene products (protein or RNA). Sophisticated programs of gene expression are wi ...

. In 1998,

Roderick MacKinnon Roderick MacKinnon (born February 19, 1956) is an American biophysicist, neuroscientist, and businessman. He is a professor of Molecular Neurobiology and Biophysics at Rockefeller University who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with Peter ...

’s laboratory elucidated the structure and mechanism of a

potassium channel Potassium channels are the most widely distributed type of ion channel found in virtually all organisms. They form potassium-selective pores that span cell membranes. Potassium channels are found in most cell types and control a wide variety of c ...

, explaining how electrical signals are conveyed across cell membranes. Titia de Lange was part of a team that found how

telomere A telomere (; ) is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes. Although there are different architectures, telomeres, in a broad sense, are a widespread genetic feature mos ...

s protect chromosome ends, shedding light on the role of

genome instability Genome instability (also genetic instability or genomic instability) refers to a high frequency of mutations within the genome of a cellular lineage. These mutations can include changes in nucleic acid sequences, chromosomal rearrangements or aneu ...

in cancer in 1999. Robert B. Darnell led research that defined the molecular basis of fragile X syndrome, the second leading cause of

intellectual disability Intellectual disability (ID), also known as general learning disability in the United Kingdom and formerly mental retardation, Rosa's Law, Pub. L. 111-256124 Stat. 2643(2010). is a generalized neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by signif ...

, in 2001. Vincent A. Fischetti was part of a group that developed a powerful agent that can target and wipe out anthrax bacteria in 2002. Charles M. Rice helped produce an infectious form of the

hepatitis C virus The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a small (55–65 nm in size), enveloped, positive-sense single-stranded RNA virus of the family '' Flaviviridae''. The hepatitis C virus is the cause of hepatitis C and some cancers such as liver cancer (hepatoc ...

in laboratory cultures of human cells in 2005, leading directly to three new classes of hepatitis C drugs.

Elaine Fuchs Elaine V. Fuchs is an American cell biologist famous for her work on the biology and molecular mechanisms of mammalian skin and skin diseases, who helped lead the modernization of dermatology. Fuchs pioneered reverse genetics approaches, which ...

helped define the stem cells that can initiate squamous cell carcinoma in 2011, and also characterized the

signaling pathways Signal transduction is the process by which a chemical or physical signal is transmitted through a cell as a series of molecular events, most commonly protein phosphorylation catalyzed by protein kinases, which ultimately results in a cellula ...

that drive

malignancy Malignancy () is the tendency of a medical condition to become progressively worse. Malignancy is most familiar as a characterization of cancer. A ''malignant'' tumor contrasts with a non-cancerous ''benign'' tumor in that a malignancy is not s ...

. In 2013, Leslie B. Vosshall’s laboratory identified a gene in mosquitoes that is responsible for their attraction to humans and their sensitivity to the insect repellent DEET. Ali Brivanlou's laboratory developed a method to grow embryos outside the uterus for up to 13 days in 2016, allowing scientists to study the earliest events of human development. In 2020, many Rockefeller scientists shifted the focus of their research in response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. Michel C. Nussenzweig pioneered a method to isolate and clone antibodies from people who successfully recovered from COVID-19 to design a treatment that prevents people from developing severe disease. Jean-Laurent Casanova identified genetic mutations that are responsible for a subset of unexpectedly severe cases of COVID-19.

Campus and student life

Founder's Hall was the first building on Rockefeller's campus, built between 1903 and 1906. It housed the nation's first major biomedical research laboratory and was declared a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 1974. Caspary Auditorium, a 40-foot-high, 90-foot round geodesic dome, was built in 1957 and hosts a variety of concert series and lectures. The completion of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation–David Rockefeller River Campus in 2019, built along the

East River The East River is a saltwater tidal estuary in New York City. The waterway, which is actually not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates the borough of Quee ...

over FDR Drive, added two acres to Rockefeller's footprint. Rockefeller's campus houses a childcare center for researchers and other university employees. Graduate students are offered subsidized housing on campus and receive an annual stipend. Student groups include People at Rockefeller Identifying as Sexual/Gender Minorities (PRISM), Women in Science at Rockefeller (WISeR), and the Science and Education Policy Association (SEPA). The student-run publication ''Natural Selections'' is produced monthly.

Promotion of women in science and outreach activities

The Rockefeller University established a Women in Science initiative in 1998 to address the underrepresentation of women in the field. It is founded mainly by female philanthropists. The program includes scholarships and an entrepreneurship found to help increase the low number of female researchers that commercialize their discoveries. In 2004 Rockefeller's professor

Paul Greengard Paul Greengard (December 11, 1925 – April 13, 2019) was an American neuroscientist best known for his work on the molecular and cellular function of neurons. In 2000, Greengard, Arvid Carlsson and Eric Kandel were awarded the Nobel Prize for ...

donated the full amount of his Nobel Prize to establish the

Pearl Meister Greengard Prize The Pearl Meister Greengard Prize is an award for women scientists in biology given annually by the Rockefeller University. The Prize was founded by Nobel laureate Paul Greengard and his wife Ursula von Rydingsvard in honor of Greengard's moth ...

given annually to a woman scientist in the field of biology. Rockefeller also host diverse initiatives to promote science and culture: Parents & Science Initiative, The RockEDU Science Outreach for K-12 students and teachers that includes lab experience and professional development and The

Lewis Thomas Prize The Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing about Science, named for its first recipient, Lewis Thomas, is an annual literary prize awarded by The Rockefeller University to scientists or physicians deemed to have accomplished a significant literary achieveme ...

for writing about science is given annually. In addition, Rockefeller hosts the Peggy Rockefeller Concerts and in collaboration with

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

and

it hosts the Tri-Institutional Noon concert Series. In 2012, Rockefeller began participating in

Open House New York Open House New York (OHNY) is a cultural nonprofit organization that holds annual Doors Open Days. It was founded in 2001 in New York City. Organization Open House New York (OHNY) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts educational p ...

's OHNY Weekend.

Notable people

Nobel laureates

Award affiliations taken from

Alumni

FDR Drive - New York City, New York (6818058813)

There are more than 1,262 alumni. *

David Albert David Z. Albert (born 1954) is Frederick E. Woodbridge Professor of Philosophy and Director of the MA Program in The Philosophical Foundations of Physics at Columbia University in New York. Education and career He received his bachelor's degree ...

, physicist and philosopher *

David Baltimore David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Technol ...

, recipient of Nobel Prize in Physiology & Medicine in 1975 for the discovery of reverse transcriptase. Has served as president of both the Rockefeller University and the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech or CIT)The university itself only spells its short form as "Caltech"; the institution considers other spellings such a"Cal Tech" and "CalTech" incorrect. The institute is also occasional ...

. *

Michael Bratman Michael E. Bratman (born July 25, 1945) is an American philosopher who is Durfee Professor in the School of Humanities & Sciences and Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University. Education and career Bratman graduated from Haverford Colle ...

, Durfee Professor of philosophy at Stanford University. *

Gerald Edelman Gerald Maurice Edelman (; July 1, 1929 – May 17, 2014) was an American biologist who shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work with Rodney Robert Porter on the immune system. Edelman's Nobel Prize-winning research concern ...

, recipient of the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. *

Barbara Ehrenreich Barbara Ehrenreich (, ; ; August 26, 1941 – September 1, 2022) was an American author and political activist. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she was a prominent figure in the Democratic Socialists of America. She was a widely read and awar ...

, social commentator and author of the 2001 book ''Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America''. * Alice F. Healy, psychologist, College Professor of Distinction at the University of Colorado Boulder * Roy S. Herbst, oncologist, lung cancer researcher, and academic,

Yale Cancer Center Yale Cancer Center (YCC) was founded in 1974 as a result of an act of Congress in 1971, which declared the nation's "war on cancer". It is one of a network of 51 Comprehensive Cancer Centers designated by the National Cancer Institute (NCI).Curr ...

and

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

* Bertil Hille, Professor of Physiology and Biophysics at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...

winner who specializes in cell signaling by ion channels, neurotransmitters and hormones. * Mandë Holford, Professor in Chemistry at Hunter College with appointments at the American Museum of Natural History and

Weill Cornell Medical College The Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University is Cornell University's biomedical research unit and medical school located in Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York City, New York. Weill Cornell Medicine is affiliated with N ...

Jonathan Lear Jonathan Lear is an American philosopher and psychoanalyst. He is the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and Roman Family Director of the Neubauer Collegium for Culture and Society at the University ...

, the John U. Nef Distinguished Service Professor in the Committee on Social Thought and professor of philosophy at the University of Chicago, who specializes in Aristotle and psychoanalysis. * Erich Jarvis, HHMI Investigator and head of the Neurogenetics of Language Laboratory at Rockefeller University. *

Seth Lloyd Seth Lloyd (born August 2, 1960) is a professor of mechanical engineering and physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His research area is the interplay of information with complex systems, especially quantum systems. He has perform ...

, physicist *

Harvey Lodish Harvey Franklin Lodish (born November 16, 1941) is a molecular and cell biologist, professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Founding Member of the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research, and lead author of the textbook ...

, professor of biology at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

and Founding Member of the

Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research is a non-profit research institute located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States that is dedicated to improving human health through basic biomedical research. It was founded as a fiscally indepen ...

* Kiran Musunuru, professor of medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, co-founder of Verve Therapeutics, recipient of the

Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. The White ...

* Nina Papavasiliou, Helmholtz Professor in the Division of Immune Diversity at the

German Cancer Research Center The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres ...

* Manuel Elkin Patarroyo, Colombian pathologist who made the world's first attempt of synthetic vaccine for malaria. Recipient of Prince of Asturias Award in 1994. *

Vanessa Ruta Vanessa Julia Ruta, Ph.D. is an American neuroscientist known for her work on the structure and function of chemosensory circuits underlying innate and learned behaviors in the fly ''Drosophila melanogaster.'' She is the Gabrielle H. Reem and Her ...

, Head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior at Rockefeller University. *

Robert Sapolsky Robert Morris Sapolsky (born April 6, 1957) is an American neuroendocrinology researcher and author. He is a professor of biology, and professor of neurology and neurological sciences and, by courtesy, neurosurgery, at Stanford University. In ad ...

, Stanford professor, MacArthur "Genius" Grant recipient, and writer of numerous books on stress and natural history. *

Amos Smith Amos B. Smith III (born August 26, 1944) is an American chemist. Biography He is most notable for his research in the total synthesis of complex natural product, as well as the chemistry of mammalian pheromones and chemical communication. He c ...

, Rhodes-Thompson professor of chemistry at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

* Leslie B. Vosshall, HHMI Investigator and the Robin Chemers Neustein Professor of Neurogenetics and Behavior at The Rockefeller University. * Richard Wolfenden, professor of chemistry, biochemistry and biophysics at the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

* Martin Yarmush, Paul and Mary Monroe Chair and Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was ...

and Founding Director of the Center for Engineering in Medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Member of US National Academy of Engineering and National Academy of Inventors

Individual affiliates

Notable figures to emerge from the institution include

Alexis Carrel Alexis Carrel (; 28 June 1873 – 5 November 1944) was a French surgeon and biologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1912 for pioneering vascular suturing techniques. He invented the first perfusion pump with Charl ...

, Peyton Rous,

Hideyo Noguchi , also known as , was a prominent Japanese bacteriologist who in 1911 discovered the agent of syphilis as the cause of progressive paralytic disease. Early life Noguchi Hideyo whose childhood name was Seisaku Noguchi was born to a family of farm ...

, Thomas Milton Rivers,

Richard Shope Richard Edwin Shope (December 25, 1901 – October 2, 1966) was an American virologist who, together with his mentor Paul A. Lewis at the Rockefeller Institute, identified influenzavirus A in pigs in 1931. Using Shope's technique, Smith, An ...

, Thomas Francis Jr, Oswald T. Avery,

Frederick Griffith Frederick Griffith (1877–1941) was a British bacteriologist whose focus was the epidemiology and pathology of bacterial pneumonia. In January 1928 he reported what is now known as Griffith's Experiment, the first widely accepted demonstrati ...

, Colin MacLeod, Maclyn McCarty,

Rebecca Lancefield Rebecca Craighill Lancefield (January 5, 1895 – March 3, 1981). p.227 was a prominent American microbiologist. She joined the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research (now Rockefeller University) in New York in 1918, and was associated with ...

Wendell Meredith Stanley Wendell Meredith Stanley (16 August 1904 – 15 June 1971) was an American biochemist, virologist and Nobel laureate. Biography Stanley was born in Ridgeville, Indiana, and earned a BSc in Chemistry at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. ...

René Dubos René Jules Dubos (February 20, 1901 – February 20, 1982) was a French-American microbiologist, experimental pathologist, environmentalist, humanist, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book ''So Human An Animal ...

Ashton Carter Ashton Baldwin Carter (September 24, 1954 – October 24, 2022) was an American government official and academic who served as the 25th United States Secretary of Defense from February 2015 to January 2017. He later served as director of the Be ...

, and Cornelius P. Rhoads. Others attained eminence before being drawn to the university.

Joshua Lederberg Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...

, who won the

Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

in 1958, served as president of the university from 1978 to 1990. Paul Nurse, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2001, was president from 2003 to 2010. (Before Nurse's tenure, Thomas Sakmar was acting-president from 2002.) Barry Coller, who invented the

Abciximab Abciximab, a glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor antagonist manufactured by Janssen Biologics BV and distributed by Eli Lilly under the trade name ReoPro, is a platelet aggregation inhibitor mainly used during and after coronary artery procedures li ...

, currently serves as the Vice President for Medical Affairs. In all, as of October 2020, 38 Nobel Prize recipients have been associated with the university. In the mid-1970s, the university attracted a few prominent academicians in the humanities, such as

Saul Kripke Saul Aaron Kripke (; November 13, 1940 – September 15, 2022) was an American philosopher and logician in the analytic tradition. He was a Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and em ...

Controversy

Reginald Archibald, an

endocrinologist Endocrinology (from ''endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental events ...

at the university from 1948 to 1982, allegedly abused dozens or hundreds of boys during his time at the university while studying growth problems in children, including molestation and photographing them naked. Officials at Rockefeller University knew of the legitimacy of the claims for years before notifying the public. The university and hospital issued a statement confirming that Archibald had "engaged in certain inappropriate conduct during patient examinations" and that they "deeply regret ed any "pain and suffering" the former patients felt. New York State passed a law known as the Child Victims Act, which created a one-year window for

civil suit - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil act ...

s brought by former child victims, allowing them to make cases against the university.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Educational institutions established in 1901 Institutions founded by the Rockefeller family Universities and colleges in Manhattan Universities and colleges in New York City Upper East Side 1901 establishments in New York (state) 1901 in biology