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Molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler receives Rockefeller’s Pearl Meister Greengard Prize

by Alexandra MacWade, assistant editor For hundreds of years, bacteria were thought of as reclusive, antisocial organisms. But molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler, known to some as the “Bacteria Whisperer,” discovered that these single-celled creatures actually talk to one another and c...

Fifty years after landmark methadone discovery, stigmas and misunderstandings persist

Methadone, the first pharmacological treatment for heroin addiction, was pioneered 50 years ago by Rockefeller University’s Mary Jeanne Kreek and her colleagues. Since then the drug, which is widely used in treatment programs across the globe, has saved countless lives and allowed millions of her...

First structural map of the cystic fibrosis protein sheds light on how mutations cause disease

Rockefeller scientists have created the first three-dimensional map of the protein responsible for cystic fibrosis, an inherited disease for which there is no cure. This achievement, described December 1 in Cell, offers the kinds of insights essential to better understanding and treating this oft...

Elaine Fuchs to receive 2016 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science

Elaine Fuchs, Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor and head of the Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, has won the 2016 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science for her innovative use of reverse genetics to understand skin diseases and cancer stem cells. The priz...

Survey of New York City soil uncovers medicine-making microbes

Microbes have long been an invaluable source of new drugs. And to find more, we may have to look no further than the ground beneath our feet. Researchers at The Rockefeller University have shown that the dirt beneath New York City teems with our tiny allies in the fight against disease. In soil c...

Neuroscientist Huda Y. Zoghbi is elected to the Board

by Alexandra MacWade, assistant editor Huda Y. Zoghbi, a pediatric neurologist and neuroscientist who has made key discoveries in the study of brain disorders, has been elected to Rockefeller’s Board of Trustees. With her election, which took place at the Board’s October 19 meeting, the univ...

Rockefeller’s Science Outreach program explores the microbes in food

If you’ve ever forgotten about a cheese wedge in the fridge, you may have discovered something mysterious growing on it, a sure sign that it’s no longer edible. But have you ever wondered where the microbes responsible for that change came from? That’s one of several questions that the late...

Jean-Laurent Casanova receives the 2016 Inserm Grand Prix

Jean-Laurent Casanova, professor and head of the St. Giles Laboratory of Human Genetics of Infectious Diseases, has won the 2016 Inserm Grand Prix for his work on the genetic basis of infectious diseases. The prestigious award, given annually by Inserm—the French National Institute of Health and ...

New research clarifies why wounds heal more slowly with age

Older bodies need longer to mend. This reality of aging has been documented since World War I, with the observation that wounds heal slower in older soldiers. Yet until now, researchers have not been able to tease out what age-related changes hinder the body’s ability to repair itself. Recent e...

Gaby Maimon, who studies sophisticated brain functions in fruit flies, is promoted to associate professor

Neuroscientist Gaby Maimon, who heads the Laboratory of Integrative Brain Function, will become an associate professor as of January 1, 2017. His research program explores how the brain performs calculations to estimate values like angles and time, and is based on the idea that fruit flies, his r...