Xiaojing Huang, a Clinical Scholar in Paul Cohen's lab, has been named a 2025 Breast Cancer Alliance Young Investigator for her work on obesity-dependent changes in adipose and tumor macrophage metabolism in breast cancer. Congrats!
Last week, 43 students received Ph.D.s at Rockefeller's 67th convocation. Scientists Quarraisha Abdool Karim and Salim S. Abdool Karim, whose conducted pivotal work fighting the AIDS epidemic; philanthropist Marlene Hess, a longtime member and leader of Rockefeller’s Board of Trustees; and Nobel-prize winner Michael W. Young, a Rockefeller faculty member, were also given honorary degrees. Congratulations to all!
Rockefeller’s Rising Scholars Workshop helps undergraduates from minority-serving institutions envision futures in research. “We want these students to leave knowing that Rockefeller is a place where they’re welcomed and supported,” said Ashton Murray, vice president for University Life and Community Engagement, who launched the initiative. “At the same time, we hope their institutions will see us as a committed partner in championing their students’ growth.”
Did you know that gum disease can cause arthritis flare-ups? A 2023 study led by Rockefeller's Dana Orange helps explain why: “Our results indicate that periodontal disease leads to leaky gums that allow oral bacteria to enter the blood repeatedly," says Orange. "This level of oral bacteria in blood doesn’t cause obvious symptoms, so the patients were not aware this was happening, but they do trigger inflammatory and auto-antibody responses that are highly relevant to rheumatoid arthritis.” The research suggests that when doctors encounter arthritis patients who do not respond to treatment, it would be worth it to make sure they aren’t missing underlying gum disease, which is quite treatable. hashtag#ArthritisAwarenessMonth
Today would have been former Rockefeller president and Nobel Prize laureate Joshua Lederberg's 100th birthday. Lederberg was just 33 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering that bacteria can mate and exchange genes. His findings led to research that elucidated the mechanisms of bacteriophages and other viruses; explained how cell growth is interrupted; and clarified how cancer progresses. And his description of transduction led to the development of gene therapy and contributed to the boom in biotechnology and genetic engineering in the 1970s. After retiring from the presidency, Lederberg became University Professor and head of the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics and Informatics, where his research continued. Throughout his later research career, Dr. Lederberg was highly active in international science and human rights advocacy. Lederberg is deeply respected and admired for his myriad contributions to medical science, Rockefeller, and public policy, and his powerful legacy is a true testament to our mission of Science for the Benefit of Humanity.
“For nearly 125 years, this university has advanced science for the benefit of humanity,” Alex Kogan, associate vice president of Plant Operations & Housing and co-chair of the university’s Sustainability Committee, says. “Building a greener campus is part of that legacy.” Learn how a modest task force at Rockefeller grew into a campuswide commitment to greener science and smarter operations:
A collaborative study between the labs of Daniel Mucida and Gabriel Victora earlier this year showed how immune cells in the gut distinguish between food and harmful pathogens. “The big question is, how do we survive eating?” said lead author Maria C.C. Canesso, a postdoctoral fellow who led the work. “Why do our bodies normally tolerate food, and what goes wrong when we develop food allergies?” hashtag#FoodAllergyAwarenessWeek Learn more here: https://bit.ly/4hyS18b
Congratulations to all who presented at the Rockefeller University Research Assistant Association (RURAA) poster session this week!
Rockefeller's Human Resources team recently participated in national "Bring Your Child to Work Day" with a day of engaging activities for the children of our employees and students. With help from New York Hall of Science, the children participated in an array of fun and educational activities, including a StarLab experience, where they got immersed in the evening starry sky and learned how to read a star map, an animal exploration class, where they met and learned facts about 20 different animals, and a wind tube station, where they explored airflow and aerodynamics. Our littlest scientists had a wonderful time, thank you to all for a terrific event!
Mutations in FANCX appear to cause a lethal form of Fanconi anemia, a finding from the Smogorzewska lab that sheds light on unexplained pregnancy loss and offers new avenues for genetic screening. “What’s so striking is the severity,” says Agata Smogorzewska, head of the Laboratory of Genome Maintenance. “We’re seeing a lot of miscarriages, or children not living very long, which illustrates the importance of this gene and the DNA repair pathway that it is associated with for many types of stem cells.”
