Viral-induced encephalitis initiates distinct and functional CD103+ CD11b+ brain dendritic cell populations within the olfactory bulb
Vanessa Ruta, assistant professor at The Rockefeller University and head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Behavior, has been honored with a McKnight Scholar Award for her research on the functional organization of the neural circuits underlying olfactory learning. The 2012 awards, presented by the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience, were given to six early-career scientists who have established their own independent laboratories and who have demonstrated a commitment to neuroscience. More »
Vanessa Ruta honored with McKnight Scholar Award
American Philosophical Society elects Cori Bargmann to membership
Cori Bargmann, Torsten N. Wiesel Professor at The Rockefeller University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, has been elected to the American Philosophical Society in the biological sciences. The Society elects new members each year who have shown extraordinary accomplishments in their fields. Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1743, it is the United States’ first learned society, and unique among its peers for the wide variety of academic disciplines represented by its membership. More »
Influenza “histone mimic” suppresses antiviral response
Researchers have discovered a novel mechanism by which influenza viruses hijack key regulators of the human body’s normal antiviral response in order to slip by it undetected. The results have major implications for our understanding of the biology of the seasonal influenza virus and suggest a possible target for a new class of antiviral and anti-inflammatory drugs. More »
Rockefeller creates Cohn-Steinman Professorship to honor discoverers of dendritic cells
The family of the late Ralph Steinman, who died in September three days before winning the Nobel Prize, will donate much of the proceeds from the award to establish the Cohn-Steinman Professorship at Rockefeller. Combined with other donations, the professorship will create an enduring memorial to Steinman and his mentor and collaborator, Zanvil Cohn. More »
Tags: nobel prize, Ralph M. Steinman
Cori Bargmann honored with Dart/NYU Biotechnology Achievement Award
Cori Bargmann, head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior, is being recognized for her work in deciphering the neural networks that define individual and group behaviors. The Dart/NYU Biotechnology Achievement Award recognizes the role of pure science in the development of pharmaceuticals and honors those scientists whose work has led to major advances to improving care provided at the patient’s bedside.
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Albany Medical Center Prize awarded to James E. Darnell Jr. and Robert G. Roeder
Praised as “towering figures” in cell research, the scientists are being recognized for helping to define how cells grow, replicate, and become specialized, and in turn giving medical professionals and researchers the tools to improve health and combat diseases. James E. Darnell Jr., head of the Laboratory of Molecular Cell Biology, and Robert G. Roeder, head of the Laboratory of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, will share the $500,000 prize from the 12th annual award, given at a May 11 ceremony in Albany, NY.
Jeffrey V. Ravetch and Michael W. Young to receive Canada Gairdner International Awards
The Gairdner Foundation is recognizing Jeffrey V. Ravetch for his work demonstrating how our immune system can be both protective and harmful and Michael W. Young for his nearly three decades of research on circadian rhythms, the biological clocks that regulate our bodies’ patterns of sleep and wakefulness, metabolism and response to disease. The Gairdner, which is Canada’s highest scientific award, is considered among the top ten most prestigious international prizes in science. The scientists will each receive $100,000 from the Gairdner Foundation.
Marc Tessier-Lavigne to receive Friesen International Prize
President Marc Tessier-Lavigne will receive the Henry G. Friesen International Prize in Health Research, established by the Friends of Canadian Institutes of Health Research in collaboration with the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences to recognize exceptional innovation by a visionary health leader of international stature.
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Tags: Marc Tessier-Lavigne
Titia de Lange to receive Heineken Prize
De Lange is honored for her work on telomeres, the protective DNA sequences located at the tips of chromosomes which play a crucial role in such processes as ageing and cancer.
Johannes Scheid wins 2012 Weintraub Graduate Student Award
Scheid is one of 13 awardees, all advanced graduate students at or near the completion of their studies in the biological sciences and chosen for the quality, originality and significance of their thesis research.
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Elaine Fuchs to receive 2012 March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology
The award recognizes Fuchs’s contributions to our understanding of skin biology and skin stem cells, including discoveries that have led to advancements in treating skin cancer and severe burns.
Tags: Elaine Fuchs
Tarun Kapoor to receive Irving Sigal Young Investigator Award
The award recognizes Dr. Kapoor’s work combining chemical and biological approaches to dissect mechanisms of cell division. and will be presented at The Protein Society’s annual symposium in August.
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$15 million gift from Helmsley Trust to fund research on digestive diseases
Funds will establish a new center, to be known as the Center for Basic and Translational Research on Disorders of the Digestive System, which will support interdisciplinary basic research and foster collaborations among some 20 Rockefeller labs that study biological processes related to the digestive system. More »
Norton Zinder, pioneering molecular geneticist, dies at 83
Zinder was a geneticist and microbiologist whose research on the genetics of bacteria and on the properties of bacteriophages provided important information on the mechanisms of heredity. He died February 3 after a long illness. More »
Study in fruit flies reveals a gene affecting the ability to sleep
Research suggests that a newly identified gene known as insomniac is an important reason why we get drowsy and fall asleep. By cloning and testing this gene in fruit flies, Rockefeller University researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism by which sleep is regulated. More »
Tags: Michael W. Young
In cancer, molecular signals that recruit blood vessels also trigger metastasis
Cancer cells are most deadly when they’re on the move – able not only to destroy whatever organ they are first formed in, but also to create colonies elsewhere in the body. New research has now shown how a small RNA prevents the recruitment and formation of blood vessels near cancer cells destined to become metastases, a process that must occur in order for them to grow. The scientists say that if drugs could be developed that act on the pathways regulated by this microRNA, they might be able to block the metastatic process and prevent some breast cancers from becoming deadly. More »
Tags: cancer, metastasis, Sohail Tavazoie
2011 Nobel Prize Ceremony to be webcast live
Tomorrow, the family of Nobel Prize winner Ralph M. Steinman, who died September 30, will accept the Nobel medal and diploma on his behalf from King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The ceremony will be Webcast live beginning at 10:20 a.m. Eastern Time. A video of the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony will also be available a few days later. More »
Resident protection
To keep the body safe, the immune system enlists more than one form of protection. Rockefeller University scientists, working in collaboration with researchers at New York University, are learning about an important, but little-known, network of dendritic cells in lymph nodes through innovative, live-action imaging. More »
Statin-intolerant patients need a different type of clinical trial, Rockefeller researchers say
Although only five percent of people in clinical trials report side effects from statin drugs, in practice the problem is far greater. Clinical trials need to better address the needs of statin-intolerant patients, Rockefeller researchers say. More »
University joins 10 leading medical and research institutions to form New York Genome Center
The New York Genome Center, which will become one of the largest genomic facilities in North America, will begin operations as early as spring 2012 in its 120,000 square foot Manhattan facility.
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