Women & Science News
Researchers discover a genetic disposition increasing the risk of breast cancer metastasis
Rockefeller News, December 9, 2024
Metastasis is responsible for 90 percent of cancer deaths. Researchers have found that the mutations driving it may stem from a commonly inherited variant of the PCSK9 gene.
In studying the mating rituals of fruit flies, scientists may have learned something about how brains evolve
Rockefeller News, October 9, 2024
Researchers have identified how the architecture of brain circuits helps different species flexibly adapt to new mating signals across evolutionary timeframes.
Svetlana Mojsov wins a 2024 Lasker~DeBakey Clinical Medical Research Award
Rockefeller News, September 19, 2024
Mojsov’s discovery of GLP-1 and its critical role in the regulation of insulin secretion and blood glucose led to the development of a revolutionary new class of medicines.
Why a promising breast cancer drug doesn’t work—and how to improve it
Rockefeller News, September 10, 2024
A treatment that appears effective in cancers such as myelofibrosis consistently fails in breast cancer clinical trials. A new study explains why.
Surprising mechanism for removing dead cells identified
Rockefeller News, August 21, 2024
A tandem signaling process turns ordinary cells into an efficient cleanup crew.
Knocking out one key gene leads to autistic traits
Rockefeller News, August 16, 2024
Hyperactivity, repetitive behavior, and language deficits all appeared in the mice, highlighting an unexpected role the cerebellum seems to play in autism.
Link discovered between sensory neurons and breast cancer metastasis
Rockefeller News, August 7, 2024
Researchers found a “neuro-cancer axis” that may promote the spread of breast cancer. They also found that an FDA-approved anti-nausea medication may prevent it.
Elizabeth Campbell launches Laboratory of Molecular Pathogenesis
Rockefeller News, July 1, 2024
The infectious disease specialist will continue her groundbreaking work on the transcriptomes of the pathogens behind tuberculosis and Covid.
Leslie B. Vosshall honored with the Dickson Prize in Medicine
Rockefeller News, June 26, 2024
Leslie Vosshall is recognized for her pioneering studies of the mosquito Aedes aegypti, which transmits pathogens causing human diseases including dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever.
Key mechanism for maintaining proper telomere length identified
Rockefeller News, June 4, 2024
New findings describe how the enzyme CST is recruited to the end of the telomere, where it maintains telomere length with the help of subtle chemical changes made to the protein POT1.
Cori Bargmann receives Gruber Neuroscience Prize
Rockefeller News, May 8, 2024
The 2024 Gruber Neuroscience Prize is being awarded to Cori Bargmann, Rockefeller’s Torsten N. Wiesel Professor, head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, and vice president for academic affairs.
Why some people with rheumatoid arthritis have pain without inflammation
Rockefeller News, April 10, 2024
Researchers have identified a suite of genes explaining the disconnect between diagnosis and symptom.
Vitamin A may play a central role in stem cell biology and wound repair
Rockefeller News, March 7, 2024
Retinoic acid, the active state of Vitamin A, appears to regulate how stem cells enter and exit a transient state central to their role in wound repair.
Double trouble at chromosome ends
New study on mating behaviors offers clues into the evolution of attraction
Rockefeller News, March 7, 2024
In examining the mating rituals of roundworms, researchers uncovered a unique approach to reproduction that maximizes genetic fitness.
Double trouble at chromosome ends
Rockefeller News, February 28, 2024
The end replication problem dictates that telomeres shrink unless telomerase intervenes. But the problem is actually twice as complicated, with telomerase providing only part of the solution.
Svetlana Mojsov named 2024 recipient of the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize
Rockefeller News, February 28, 2024
Svetlana Mojsov’s research into hormonal triggers for insulin production led to groundbreaking treatments for diabetes and obesity. She will be presented with the award on April 17.
Cutting-edge methods yield surprising insights into Huntington’s disease
Rockefeller News, February 16, 2024
New findings add depth to our understanding of neurodegeneration.
Keeping telomerase in check
Rockefeller News, February 15, 2024
Telomerase could run amok, deleteriously capping damaged DNA, were it not for a first responder to DNA damage.
Her scientific breakthrough took 5 years. Getting credit took decades.
Rockefeller News, November 22, 2023
Svetlana Mojsov’s research directly led to blockbuster drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. She talks about the long quest for proper credit and lessons that can be learned from her experience.
Lily Jan and Eve Marder to receive 2023 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize
Rockefeller News, September 15, 2023
Jan and Marder, who have both made fundamental contributions to neurobiology, will be presented with the award in a ceremony on The Rockefeller University campus on September 20.
Unlocking how the new Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab works
Rockefeller News, September 1, 2023
As with many cutting-edge therapies, we know more about the drug’s effectiveness than we do about how it actually operates. A new study reveals a possible mechanism for its impact on patients.
Researchers find an epigenetic key that unlocks common deadly cancers
Rockefeller News, July 28, 2023
In skin, some aberrant adult epidermal stem cells turn on SOX9, kickstarting a process that ultimately activates cancer genes. Elaine Fuchs, head of the Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, and her laboratory provide new insights into how cancer derails a stem cell’s decision-making process.
Studying the cleanup crew of the genome to illuminate a rare disease
Rockefeller News, May 31, 2023
Agata Smogorzewska, head of Rockefeller’s Laboratory of Genome Maintenance, investigates the handful of DNA repair mechanisms that attempt to correct problems, errors, and breakdowns.
Gum disease may lie at the root of some arthritis flare-ups
Rockefeller News, April 17, 2023
Dana Orange, a professor of clinical investigation in the laboratory of Robert B. Darnell, and the Darnell lab had been following a small group of arthritis patients over the course of several years, collecting weekly blood samples and looking for changes in gene expression to help explain why painful flare-ups occur, when they noticed a surprising trend.
Seeking the origin story of de novo genes
Rockefeller News, April 10, 2023
Li Zhao, head of Rockefeller’s Laboratory of Evolutionary Genetics and Genomics, shares how she started studying de novo genes, which emerge from previously silent or non-coding stretches of DNA, like Athena springing fully formed from the forehead of Zeus. They were once considered as rare as unicorns; but over the past decade, Zhao and her colleagues have established that de novo genes are actually quite common, identifying more than 500 genetic newbies in Drosophila alone.
Elaine Fuchs awarded Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science
Rockefeller News, January 25, 2023
Rockefeller University biologist Elaine Fuchs has been awarded a 2023 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science, one of the oldest and most most venerable honors in the United States. Head of the Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, Fuchs uses mammalian skin as a model to illuminate the nature and behavior of tissue stem cells.
Why older fathers pass on more genetic mutations to their offspring
Rockefeller News, January 12, 2023
A new study in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution by Rockefeller University scientists describes why older male fruit flies are more likely to pass mutations onto their offspring, potentially shining a light on inherited-disease risk in humans. Researchers in Li Zhao‘s lab studied mutations that occur during the production of sperm from germline cells, known as spermatogenesis.
Cancer stem cells are fueled through dialogue with their environments
Rockefeller News, November 30, 2022
What drives tumor growth? Is it a few rogue cells imposing their will upon healthy tissue, or diseased tissue bringing out the worst in otherwise peaceable cells? Or is it a back-and-forth, a dialogue between the two? According to a new study, it may be the latter, at least when it comes to the progression of one common skin cancer.
Research on rare genetic disease sheds light on a common head and neck cancer
Rockefeller News, November 30, 2022
Research led by Rockefeller physician-scientist Agata Smogorzewska explains why Fanconi anemia patients are vulnerable to this cancer, known as head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and point the way for the development of new treatments
Plagued by mosquito bites? New research suggests why, with public health implications
NBC News, October 20, 2022
Video: Researchers at Rockefeller University discovered one of the reasons mosquitoes target some more than others: acids on your skin that are eaten by bacteria, creating an odor. NBC News’ Stephanie Gosk breaks down how the study worked. The aim is to improve repellants and cut down on disease.
Why some people are mosquito magnets
Rockefeller News, October 18, 2022
Leslie Vosshall, head of Rockefeller’s Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior, and Maria Elena De Obaldia, a former postdoc in her lab, set out to explore the leading theory to explain varying mosquito appeal: individual odor variations connected to skin microbiota. They recently demonstrated through a study that fatty acids emanating from the skin may create a heady perfume that mosquitoes can’t resist.
Unlocking the mystery of how mosquitoes smell humans
Rockefeller News, August 12, 2022
At first glance, mosquito olfaction makes no sense. The way the mosquito organizes its sensation of smell is completely unexpected,” says Leslie Vosshall, Rockefeller’s Robin Chemers Neustein Professor and Chief Scientific Officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. “But for the mosquito it makes perfect sense. Every neuron that interprets smell is redundant in such a way that the olfactory system is essentially unbreakable. This may explain why we haven’t found a way to break mosquitoes’ attraction to humans.
New faculty member plumbs the depths of fast-track evolution
Rockefeller News, July 28, 2022
Lamia Wahba, the newest addition to The Rockefeller University faculty, discovered a key mechanism of non-genetic inheritance in the nematode C. elegans, and has since launched a deeper investigation into the mysteries of non-genetic inheritance. Wahba will join Rockefeller January 1, 2023, as a tenure-track assistant professor and head of laboratory.
How the intestine replaces and repairs itself
Rockefeller News, July 18, 2022
A new study suggests that stem cells are able to integrate cues from their surroundings and coordinate their behavior across the tissue through networks of vasculature in their close vicinity. “The key to treating these diseases will be to figure out who talks to whom in this ecosystem and how we can reset the communication networks,” says Rachel Niec, a clinical scholar in the laboratory of Elaine Fuchs.
New portrait of five trailblazing women scientists from Rockefeller’s past is unveiled
Rockefeller News, July 1, 2022
Until this spring, The Rockefeller University art collection contained 35 portraits—all depicting historical male scientists and benefactors. But on April 14, when a new portrait by artist Brenda Zlamany was unveiled over the fireplace in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Reception Hall, five preeminent women scientists joined the university’s portraiture collection.
A third vaccine dose may increase protection from Omicron
Rockefeller News, June 23, 2022
Theodora Hatziioannou co-led a study with colleagues Michel C. Nussenzweig and Paul Bieniasz that analyzed blood samples from patients who received a booster. Researchers showed that the third dose galvanizes memory B cells into producing potent and versatile antibodies that neutralize both the original virus and its many variants.
How intricate patterns arise in developing tissues
Rockefeller News, May 31, 2022
A new study from the Laboratory of Morphogenesis at The Rockefeller University, co-led by Amy Shyer and Alan Rodrigues, reveals that developmental patterns can emerge spontaneously from physical interactions between cell collectives and the matrix that surrounds them.
Titia de Lange elected to the Royal Society
Rockefeller News, May 11, 2022
Titia de Lange, Ph.D., Leon Hess Professor and head of the Laboratory of Cell Biology and Genetics, and director of Rockefeller’s Anderson Center for Cancer Research, has been elected a foreign member of the Royal Society, the United Kingdom’s academy of sciences.
How a narrow-spectrum antibiotic takes aim at C. Diff
Rockefeller News, April 6, 2022
Elizabeth Campbell, Ph.D. among other Rockefeller scientists took a close look at one antibiotic, fidaxomicin, used to treat Clostridium difficile, or C. diff, one of the most common healthcare-associated infections. The researchers demonstrated at a molecular level how fidaxomicin selectively targets C. diff while sparing the innocent bacterial bystanders.
Elizabeth Heller’s Lab Uncovers How Drug Addiction Can Create Lasting Changes in Genes
Penn Medcine News, April 5, 2022
Former Women & Science Fellow and RU alumna, Elizabeth Heller, Ph.D was featured in Penn Medicine News. Her 10-person lab at UPenn is focused on molecular brain mechanisms, aiming to uncover chronic changes that can happen and keep happening in the brain long after exposure to addictive substances like cocaine ends.
New Covid Variant: What We Know About the BA.2 Omicron Strain
Wall Street Journal, January 28, 2022
The Wall Street Journal featured Rockefeller’s Dr. Theodora Hatziioannou in an article regarding the emergence of the BA.2 Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2. Based on an analysis of the structural difference between BA.2 and the earlier Omicron variant, Dr. Hatziioannou stresses their similarities and discusses BA.2’s likely responses to vaccines and treatments.
Insights into a cystic fibrosis treatment may herald a novel class of drugs
Rockefeller News, January 24, 2022
Protein folding diseases, from Alzheimer’s to Gaucher’s, may one day be treated by a unique class of protein corrector molecules that are already helping manage cystic fibrosis. Jue Chen and her lab’s research could have wide-ranging implications, enabling the development of novel drugs for a spectrum of illnesses linked to improper protein folding.
Fuchs Goes Boldly Where No Stem Cell Biologist has Gone Before
ASBMB Today, December 22, 2021
Rockefeller’s Elaine Fuchs won the 2022 Bert and Natalie Vallee Award in Biomedical Science for her foundational research showing how stem cells create, maintain and repair our skin.
Stem cell memories may drive wound repair—and chronic disease
Rockefeller News, November 29, 2021
Epidermal stem cells derived from the hair follicle are almost indistinguishable from stem cells native to the epidermis. But the memory of their journey to the surface changes their approach to wound repair. In a new study, Rockefeller’s Elaine Fuchs’s and her team focus on minor everyday skin injuries.
Dopamine’s many roles explained
Rockefeller News, October 26, 2021
Decades of research have established dopamine’s contribution to several seemingly unrelated brain functions including learning, motivation, and movement, raising the question of how a single neurotransmitter can play so many different roles. In a new study, Rockefeller’s Vanessa Ruta and her team dive deep into the question by looking instead at the much simpler brain of the fruit fly, whose neurons and their connections have been mapped in detail
Three Rockefeller researchers are elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Rockefeller News, October 18, 2021
Mary E. Hatten, a pioneering researcher investigating how the brain develops, Charles M. Rice, a Nobel laureate who studies pathogenic viruses and innate antiviral immune mechanisms, and Leslie B. Vosshall, who investigates how mosquitoes seek out and bite human hosts, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Membership in the academy is one of the most prestigious honors in the fields of health and medicine.
Katalin Karikó named the 2022 recipient of the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize
Rockefeller News, October 1, 2021
Katalin Karikó, whose discovery of how to keep synthetic RNA from activating the innate immune system paved the way for RNA vaccines, including two for SARS-CoV-2, will receive the 2022 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize.
Three Rockefeller researchers are named HHMI investigators
Rockefeller News, September 23, 2021
Three Rockefeller faculty members have been named investigators of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, including Vanessa Ruta, head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior. These researchers are among just 33 biomedical scientists nationwide chosen to become HHMI investigators this year.
Leslie B. Vosshall Named VP and CSO of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Rockefeller News, September 17, 2021
Leslie B. Vosshall, a Rockefeller faculty member known for her research on how the tiny but deadly mosquito perceives and processes sensory information, has been appointed vice president and chief scientific officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI).
We have now seen our sense of smell in action
Popular Science, August 4, 2021
The nose is, at its most basic level, a tool for filtering through the chemicals of the outside world, sorting, weighing, and categorizing the trillions of molecules of all shapes and sizes that waft over us. In a study out this week, scientists opened a window into a basic step in the sensation. Reporting Wednesday in Nature, researchers documented the first images of an odor receptor at work—providing clues on how animals have evolved to sort through that endless variety.
Study reveals how smell receptors work
Rockefeller News, August 4, 2021
“The olfactory system has to recognize a vast number of molecules with only a few hundred odor receptors or even less,” says Rockefeller neuroscientist Vanessa Ruta. “It’s clear that it had to evolve a different kind of logic than other sensory systems.” In a new study, Ruta and her colleagues offer answers to the decades-old question of odor recognition by providing the first-ever molecular views of an olfactory receptor at work.
How cells draw on memories of past inflammation to respond to new threats
Rockefeller News, July 27, 2021
When a tissue experiences inflammation, its cells remember. Pinning proteins to its genetic material at the height of inflammation, the cells bookmark where they left off in their last tussle. Next exposure, inflammatory memory kicks in. A new study in Cell Stem Cell describes the mechanism behind inflammatory memory, also commonly referred to as trained immunity, and suggests that the phenomenon may be universal across diverse cell types.
New Pearl Meister Greengard Prize exhibit celebrates the accomplishments of women scientists
Rockefeller News, July 22, 2021
A new exhibit recognizing the winners of Rockefeller’s Pearl Meister Greengard Prize was unveiled last month in the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Lounge. Composed of translucent, color-shifting hexagons, each with an etched portrait and citation, the exhibit spotlights the 22 outstanding women scientists honored to date with the prestigious prize. Each year, newly named awardees will be added to the tessellating mosaic exhibit designed by C&G Partners.
Identifying the spark of desire in fruit flies
Rockefeller News, July 12, 2021
In a new study, Rockefeller’s Vanessa Ruta and colleagues investigate how a fruit fly’s brain in the state of arousal converts a female from an indifferent visual object to a target of desire. Their findings, published in Nature, describe a sort of neural switchboard in the fruit fly’s brain that reroutes sensory information to produce different responses. “This is a fundamental question in neuroscience,” Ruta says. “How are brains able to switch the way that they react to the same stimulus?”
Secret Workings of Smell Receptors Revealed for First Time
Quanta Magazine, June 21, 2021
Researchers have finally seen how some smell receptors bind to odor molecules. The work yields new insights into one of the most mysterious and versatile senses. (Vanessa Ruta is featured in the article.)
Mary Jeanne Kreek, pioneer in studies of addiction, has died
Rockefeller News, March 29, 2021
Physician-scientist Mary Jeanne Kreek, the Patrick E. and Beatrice M. Haggerty Professor and a senior attending physician at The Rockefeller University, died March 27 at the age of 84. Kreek was best known for her research into the biology of drug and alcohol addiction. Her work not only yielded new treatments for these disorders, but also influenced societal attitudes toward them.
Paula Volent is named Chief Investment Officer
Rockefeller News, March 25, 2021
Paula Volent, a leading investment manager who oversaw Bowdoin College’s $2 billion endowment for two decades, has been named Rockefeller’s next vice president and chief investment officer. She will assume stewardship of the university’s endowment starting August 15.
Why male mosquitoes leave humans alone
Rockefeller News, February 19, 2021
Male mosquitoes won’t bite you. For one thing, they cannot—males are hopelessly bad at finding humans and lack a specialized stylet to pierce your skin. But even if they could bite you, they would not want to. A new study from the laboratory of Rockefeller’s Leslie Vosshall helps explain why.
Marina Caskey is promoted to professor of clinical investigation
Rockefeller News, December 11, 2020
Marina Caskey, a clinical scientist who leads human trials of immunotherapies for infectious disease, has been promoted to Professor of Clinical Investigation. She is a member of Michel Nussenzweig’s Laboratory of Molecular Immunology.
Telomere shortening protects against cancer
Rockefeller News, December 1, 2020
As time goes by, the tips of your chromosomes—called telomeres—become shorter. This process has long been viewed as an unwanted side-effect of aging, but a recent study shows it is in fact good for you. New results from Titia de Lange’s lab provide the first evidence that telomere shortening helps prevent cancer in humans, likely because of its power to curtail cell division.
Scientists discover mosquitoes’ unique blood-taste detectors
Rockefeller News, October 12, 2020
The human blood meal is a favorite recipe for female mosquitoes. So drawn to its taste, they can’t help but bite—and in the process they spread diseases that claim 500,000 lives each year. Yet scientists aren’t sure how the insects can even sense the complex taste of blood, or how they know that this, of all things, is something to gorge on.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded to 2 Scientists for Work on Genome Editing
New York Times, October 7, 2020
The Nobel Prize in Chemistry was jointly awarded on Wednesday to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna for their 2012 work on the development of Crispr-Cas9, a method for genome editing. The announcement marks the first time a science Nobel has been awarded to two women.
A revised map of where working memory resides in the brain
Rockefeller News, September 29, 2020
Rockefeller scientist Priya Rajasethupathy explores the genetic and mechanical basis of working memory. “There were in fact hints from earlier research that multiple brain structures are somehow involved in working memory,” says Priya Rajasethupathy, neuroscientist at Rockefeller University. “Our new findings give us more-tangible insights into what these areas are and how they are contributing.”
How Mechanical Forces Nudge Tumors Toward Malignancy
Rockefeller News, September 2, 2020
A team led by Rockefeller’s Elaine Fuchs found that mechanical properties of the tissue elements that surround pre-malignant tumor cells powerfully shape the development of two of the most common forms of skin cancer, causing one to become far more aggressive and invasive than the other.
Bulgari Supports Rockefeller University COVID-19 Research and Fellowships to Support Women Scientists
Forbes, September 8, 2020
In its ongoing efforts to integrate social, cultural and environment issues into its overall corporate structure, Bulgari announces several important initiatives in support of the Rockefeller University research programs. Perhaps top among them is its establishment of The Bulgari Women & Science Fellowship Fund to assist women in research, and the Bulgari Clinical Fund to finance clinical testing of new therapies and vaccines.
Mosquitos are coming: The Neuroscience of Mosquito Blood Meals
Blavatnik Awards for Young Scientists, June 26, 2020
2019 Blavatnik Regional Award Winner Laura Duvall is continuing her research on the neurobiology of mosquito behavior, looking for ways to control the world-wide mosquito population and prevent disease spread
Unique mutation reveals a new role for well-known DNA-repair gene
Rockefeller News, June 4, 2020
The discovery of a rare mutation in BRCA2, commonly known as the breast cancer gene, has shed new light on how cells safeguard their genetic material.
A Nobel Path
The Moth, June 3, 2020
Sarah Schlesinger was featured in an episode of The Moth Radio Hour, discussing her earliest experiences at RU and her work with the late Nobel laureate Ralph Steinman.
Mice with patchy coats lay bare how stem cells endure
Rockefeller News, May 12, 2020
New research from Rockefeller’s Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor, Elaine Fuchs, has identified a pair of gene-regulatory proteins responsible for maintaining a perpetual reserve of stem cells, ensuring that new hair will grow.
Sharpest New York minds join in quest to find a cure for the coronavirus
Market Watch, April 14, 2020
Scientists at Rockefeller University, including Research Associate Professor Theodora Hatziioannou, are among those seeking a remedy to coronavirus by studying the neutralizing antibodies that float in the plasma of recovered patients.
Rockefeller scientists launch a broad range of studies into novel coronavirus
Rockefeller News, April 3, 2020
Rockefeller University experts in infectious disease, immunology, biochemistry, structural biology, and genetics have begun over a dozen projects in recent weeks aimed at better understanding the biology of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is responsible for the current global COVID-19 pandemic.
Elaine Fuchs awarded 2020 Canada Gairdner International Award for Biomedical Science
Rockefeller News, March 31, 2020
Elaine Fuchs, a world leader in the study of skin biology, has been named a 2020 recipient of the Canada Gairdner Award, one of the most prestigious international prizes in the biosciences.
How Skin cells embark on a swift yet elaborate death
Rockefeller News, March 13, 2020
The lab led by Rockefeller’s Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor, Elaine Fuchs, recently identified the mechanism that allows skin cells to sense new changes in their environment and convert into squames.
Rockefeller grants commercial license for the development of new HIV drugs
Rockefeller News, February 26, 2020
Rockefeller has entered a licensing agreement with a global pharmaceutical company to advance the development of investigational drugs based on broadly neutralizing antibodies discovered at the university through research led by Marina Caskey and Michel C. Nussenzweig.
Leslie Vosshall Receives the 2020 Pradel Research Award
National Academy of Science, January 22, 2020
Rockefeller scientist Leslie B. Vosshall will receive the 2020 Pradel Research Award for her vital contributions to our understanding of insect olfactory systems, with important implications for protecting human health.
A Woman of Firsts, Early 20th Century
The Scientist, January 13, 2020
Florence Sabin, a scientist at Rockefeller in the early 20th century, was known for her long and illustrious career that spawned landmark discoveries and helped inspire women in STEM at a time when they faced many challenges.
Converstations with Giants in Medicine: Elaine Fuchs
Journal of Clinical Investigation, November 1, 2019
Rockefeller faculty member Elaine Fuchs is best known for revolutionizing the molecular and genetic study of skin. Her research has shed light on dermatologic disorders and all aspects of skin growth and regeneration.
Lymphatic system found to play key role in hair regeneration
Rockefeller News, November 1, 2019
New research, led by Elaine Fuchs, indicates that stem cells can influence tissue regeneration. The study identifies a molecular coordination tool used by stem cells to signal across niches.
Julia Sliwa Receives the Peter and Patricia Gruber Award
ICM Brain and Spine Institute, October 21, 2019
Former W&S Fellow Julia Sliwa received the Peter and Patricia Gruber International Award, which recognizes young neuroscientists for their outstanding work in an international context.
Northwestern faculty elected to National Academy of Science
Northwestern Now, October 21, 2019
Rockefeller alumna Catherine Woolley has been honored with election to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. The academy serves as a source of expertise to inspire action across the private and public sectors regarding critical issues in health, medicine and science.
Shapeshifting receptors may explain mysterious drug failures
Rockefeller News, October 4, 2019
Former W&S Rockefeller scientists, including W&S Graduate Fellow Emily Lorenzen, have found that G protein-coupled receptors interact with so-called receptor activity, making them take up different configurations inside the body than in the lab.
Vanessa Ruta named a 2019 MacArthur Fellow
Rockefeller News, September 25, 2019
Vanessa Ruta, Gabrielle H. Reem and Herbert J. Kayden Associate Professor, has been named a 2019 MacArthur Fellow. One of the most prestigious funding programs in the world, the MacArthur Fellowships invest in the potential of exceptionally creative individuals, providing unrestricted grants to individuals in the sciences, arts, and other fields.
Announcing the Tri-State’s Brightest Postdoctoral Scientists of 2019
The New York Academy of Sciences, September 4, 2019
Former W&S Graduate Fellow Laura Duvall was one of three researchers to be awarded the 2019 Blavatnik Regional Award for Young Scientists, which recognizes outstanding scientists from academic research institutions across New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
Regeneron Announces the 2019 Winners of the Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation
Regeneron Pharmacueticals, Inc. (via PR Newswire), July 18, 2019
Former W&S Graduate Fellow Samantha Larsen was one of two scientists to be awarded a top-tier Regeneron Prize for Creative Innovation, which recognizes promising early-career scientists.
Hinge-like protein may open new doors in cystic fibrosis treatment
Rockefeller News, July 9, 2019
Jue Chen‘s lab recently became the first to characterize how new drugs for cystic fibrosis, called potentiators, target a protein on the cell membrane, called cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, at an atomic scale.
Rita Allen Foundation Announces 2019 Scholars
Philanthropy News Digest, July 8, 2019
Li Zhao is among the 2019 class of Rita Allen Foundation Scholars, an annual program that recognizes young biomedical science researchers whose work has the potential to advance human health.
President Announces Recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Whitehouse.gov, July 2, 2019
Priya Rajasethupathy was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which is the highest honor given by US Government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers.
Learning from experience is all in the timing
Rockefeller News, June 26, 2019
Using fruit flies, researchers in Vanessa Ruta’s lab, including former W&S Fellow Annie Handler, showed that an odor can be either appealing or disgusting to an animal depending on when the smell is encountered relative to a reward. The study, described in Cell, describes this process at the cellular level—insights that likely pertain not just to flies, but to learning across the animal kingdom.
Marijuana Damages Young Brains
The New York Times, June 16, 2019
Mary Jeanne Kreek, who heads Rockefeller’s Laboratory of the Biology of Addictive Diseases, is co-author of this NYT op-ed explaining the harmful effects of marijuana on brain function for individuals below the age of 25.
New Leadership for Graduate Education
Harvard Medical School News, June 7, 2019
Harvard Medical School announced that Rosalind Segal has been appointed dean for graduate education, effective August 1st. Dr. Segal jointly earned a Ph.D. in cell biology from Rockefeller University in 1985, and an M.D. from Cornell University Medical College in 1986.
Cellular rivalry promotes healthy skin development
Rockefeller News, May 15, 2019
In a recent study published by Nature, scientists from the laboratory of Elaine Fuchs showed that skin cells in mice engage in two forms of competition, one taking place during early embryonic development and the other occurring just before birth. The researchers believe that this cutthroat cellular conflict is crucial to the cultivation of healthy skin.
You Will Never Smell My World the Way I Do
The New York Times, May 3, 2019
A study led by Leslie Vosshall found that odors such as whiskey’s smokiness, the smell of beets, and lily of the valley perfume can be utterly different depending on your genetic wiring.
Study pinpoints what causes relapse after cancer immunotherapy
Rockefeller News, April 25, 2019
The lab of Elaine Fuchs, Rockefeller’s Rebecca C. Lancefield Professor, has identified the tumor cells responsible for causing relapse in cancer patients who receive immunotherapy. Their research is providing new insight into how these cells thwart the treatment.
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative takes collaborative approach to ambitious biomedicine goals
Healio.com, March 26, 2019
In a presentation at the Endocrine Society Annual Meeting, Cori Bargmann, the Rockefeller University’s Torsten N. Wiesel Professor, discussed the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s efforts to cure, prevent, or manage all human disease by the end of the century. Cori concurrently serves as the CZ Initiative’s first president of science.
Another Obstacle for Women in Science: Men Get More Federal Grant Money
The New York Times, March 5, 2019
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that men who were the principal investigators on research projects received $41,000 more than women.
Inside the brains of hungry worms, researchers find clues about how they hunt
Rockefeller News, February 26, 2019
In a new study,the researcher from the laboratory of Cori Bargmann describe neural mechanisms responsible for local search for food, showing that this response can be triggered by either smell- or touch-related cues.
Greek Scientist Receives Award for Breakthrough Multiple Sclerosis Research
Greek USA Reporter, February 23, 2019
Dr. Katerina Akassoglou, a researcher at the University of California who earned her postdoc from RU, has received the International Barancik Prize for Innovation in Multiple Sclerosis Research.
Scientists’ ‘Craziest Experiment Possible’ Actually Works On Mosquitoes
NPR, February 7, 2019
In a paper published Thursday in the journal Cell, Leslie Vosshall and her team demonstrate how human diet drugs satiate mosquitoes’ bloodlust for several days — so they are less likely to feed on humans and spread diseases and will also produce fewer offspring.
New findings could make mosquitos more satisfied—and safer to be around
Rockefeller News, February 7, 2019
Scientists in the lab of Leslie Vosshall have shown that female mosquitoes can be persuaded not to bite at all. Their work, which appears in the journal Cell, illuminates the biology underlying the host-seeking and blood-feeding behaviors that make these insects such a menace—and could lead to new ways of shutting those behaviors down.
‘The Joy of the Discovery’: An Interview with Jennifer Doudna
The New York Review of Books, January 24, 2019
Jennifer Doudna was the recipient of the 2018 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize: An Award Recognizing Outstanding Women in Biomedical Research. The PMG Prize, awarded annually by The Rockefeller University, was established by Dr. Paul Greengard, the Vincent Astor Professor, and his wife, the sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard.
Study explains how geckos gracefully gallop on water
Rockefeller News, December 6, 2018
Jasmine Nirody, a Rockefeller fellow in physics and biology, recently published a study in Current Biology that reveals how Geckos scurry across the water’s surface at impressive speeds.
Mosquito genome opens new avenues for reducing bug-borne disease
Rockefeller News, November 14, 2018
A recent multi-institutional study, led by Leslie Vosshall, has produced a new blueprint of the Aedes aegypti genome that vastly improves upon its predecessor. The study, published in Nature, describes important applications of this resource including multiple strategies for reducing mosquito-borne illnesses.
In tiny worms, researchers find spiking neurons—and clues about brain computation
Rockefeller News, October 2, 2018
Researchers in Cori Bargmann’s laboratory have mapped all 302 neurons that make up the C. elegans nervous system. However, until now, they had never observed action potentials in these cells.
Scientists investigate how DEET confuses countless critters
Rockefeller News, September 26, 2018
First developed in the 1940s, DEET can be found in most bug sprays used today. A recent collaboration between Rockefeller University professors Leslie Vosshall, Cori Bargmann, and former W&S Graduate Fellow has shed light on how this chemical might confound the senses of vastly different species. Their findings were recently published in Nature magazine.
Announcing the Winners of the 2018 Blavatnik Regional Awards from Young Scientists
Blavatnick Awards for Young Scientists, September 5, 2018
Former RU postdoc Shruti Naik, who was recently appointed an Assistant Professor of Immunology & Microbiology at NYU School of Medicine, is the recipient of this prestigious award recognizing outstanding young scientists in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.
New faculty member studies the architecture of the genome
Rockefeller News, August 20, 2018
Viviana Risca will join Rockefeller as tenure-track professor heading the new Laboratory of Genome Architecture and Dynamics in January 2019. Her research takes a biophysical approach to examining the detailed structures that organize and support DNA and gene expression in living cells.
Structure of ion channel reveals how insects smell their way around the world
Rockefeller News, August 15, 2018
Taking advantage of recent advances in electron microscopy, Vanessa Ruta’s research answers long-held questions about insect olfaction and evolution.
New faculty member studies the mechanics of development, challenging long-held assumptions
Rockefeller News, July 17, 2018
Amy Shyer, Ph.D., a developmental biologist who just concluded a Miller Fellowship at UC Berkeley, joined the Rockefeller University faculty on July 1, 2018 as a tenure-track Assistant Professor and head of the Laboratory of Morphogenesis.
David Rockefeller Fellowship awarded to graduate student Krithika Venkataraman
Rockefeller News, July 10, 2018
Former Women & Science Graduate Fellow Krithika Venkataraman has been recognized for her study of the hormonal triggers that lead female mosquitoes to toggle between hunting for blood and spawning eggs.
Florence Sabin Pioneered Her Way in Medical Science, Then Made Sure Other Women Could Do the Same
Smithsonian.com, July 6, 2018
Florence Sabin, a pioneering research scientist who worked at The Rockefeller Institute from 1925 to 1938, helped lay the groundwork for curing tuberculosis and helped to promote women doctors in an era when their career options in medicine were limited.
What in the world are telomeres and why do they matter?
BrandeisNOW, April 9, 2018
This year’s winner of the prestigious Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research, Rockefeller University scientist Titia de Lange, will officially receive the honor on Thursday, April 12.
Mosquito Brain Atlas Aims to Reveal Neural Circuitry of Behavior
hhmi.org, March 6, 2018
Led by Rockefeller scientist Leslie Vosshall, HHMI researchers have built mosquitobrains.org, the first map of the female mosquito brain. The new resource may ultimately uncover the circuitry behind biting and other behaviors.
Scientists shed light on biological roots of individuality
Rockefeller News, February 16, 2018
Using a newly engineered system that allows scientists to record behavioral information for individual worms over an entire lifecycle, Cori Bargmann is illuminating the biology that guides behavior across different stages of life, as well as behavioral variation within species.
Do Genes Direct Our Behavior? [Video]
Scientific American, December 8, 2017
Rockefeller University neuroscientist Cori Bargmann discusses her efforts to determine the roots of animal behavior, from worms to humans, by studying how genes affect their sense of smell.
Mary E. Hatten honored with the Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience
Rockefeller News, November 28, 2017
Mary E. Hatten, a neuroscientist who studies the mechanisms of neuronal differentiation and migration during the early stages of embryonic development, has been awarded the 2017 Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience. The $25,000 prize, given annually by the Society for Neuroscience, honors an outstanding scientist who has made significant contributions to neuroscience throughout his or her career.
Inflammation trains the skin to heal faster
Rockefeller News, October 18, 2017
New research from The Rockefeller University’s Robin Chemers Neustein Laboratory of Mammalian Cell Biology and Development, conducted in part by former Women & Science Graduate Fellow Samantha Larsen, reveals that wounds or other harmful, inflammation-provoking experiences impart long-lasting memories to stem cells residing in the skin, teaching them to heal subsequent injuries faster.
Cori Bargmann elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Rockefeller News, October 16, 2017
Cori Bargmann, a neuroscientist who studies the relationship between genes, neural circuits, and behavior, has been elected to the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, the health and medicine arm of the National Academy of Sciences.
Titia de Lange to receive 2017 Rosenstiel Award
Rockefeller News, October 6, 2017
Titia de Lange, a biochemist who studies the protective ends of chromosomes known as telomeres, has been named the 2017 recipient of the Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Research, a highly prestigious honor presented annually by Brandeis University. She is recognized for her elucidation of the mechanism of telomere protection and the maintenance of genome stability.
JoAnne Stubbe of MIT will receive the 2017 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize
Rockefeller News, October 5, 2017
The Rockefeller University today announced that JoAnne Stubbe will receive the 2017 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize, the preeminent international award honoring outstanding women scientists. Stubbe, who is the Novartis Professor of Chemistry and Biology Emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will receive the 14th annual Prize in a ceremony at Rockefeller on November 7, 2017. Paula A. Johnson, president of Wellesley College, will present the award.
Team of Rival Scientists Comes Together to Fight Zika
The New York Times, March 30, 2016
With the Zika virus spreading largely unchecked in Latin America and the Caribbean by way of a now-notorious insect, some of the nation’s leading mosquito researchers, including Rockefeller University scientist Leslie Vosshall, are striving to assemble a state-of-the-art DNA map that they say will help them fight the disease with the mosquito’s own genetic code.
