Quick Facts

The Rockefeller University Community
  • President, Marc Tessier-Lavigne
  • 72 heads of laboratories
  • 200 research and clinical scientists
  • 350 postdoctoral researchers
  • 1,050 clinicians, technicians, administrative and support staff
  • 170 Ph.D. students
  • 25 M.D.-Ph.D. students
  • 1,070 alumni
Areas of Basic Interdisciplinary Research
  • biochemistry, structural biology and chemistry
  • molecular, cell and developmental biology
  • immunology, virology and microbiology
  • medical sciences and human genetics
  • neuroscience
  • physics and mathematical biology
Pioneering Discoveries
  • discovered that DNA is the basic material of heredity
  • determined that cancer can be caused by a virus
  • confirmed the connection between cholesterol and heart disease
  • discovered blood groups and ways to preserve whole blood
  • isolated and first successfully tested natural antibiotics
  • developed meningitis vaccines used to fight epidemics around the world
  • developed methadone maintenance therapy for heroin addiction
  • developed the AIDS “cocktail” drug therapy
  • showed that an adult brain of a higher species can form new nerve cells
  • discovered an obesity gene and the weight-regulating hormone leptin
Current Award-winning Faculty
  • 6 Nobel laureates
  • 7 recipients of Albert Lasker Medical Research Awards
  • 35 current members of the National Academy of Sciences
  • 3 recipients of the National Medal of Science
Selected Clinical Concerns Under Study
  • heart disease and stroke
  • HIV/AIDS
  • cancer
  • aging
  • diabetes
  • alcoholism and drug addiction
  • antibiotic resistance
  • Alzheimer's disease
  • obesity, nutrition and weight loss
  • Parkinson's disease
  • multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune disorders
  • autism
  • skin disease
  • hepatitis
  • vaccine development
  • vision and hearing disorders