Incoming graduate fellow Julie Chen, who studies complex biological systems and the regulation of cell fates, has been named a 2025 Hertz Fellow by the Hertz Foundation. Congratulations!
Svetlana Mojsov is the latest Rockefeller scientist to be elected to National Academy of Sciences! Mojsov’s research on glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a hormone released by the gut in response to food, underlies one of the most significant public health breakthroughs in recent memory: namely the development of highly effective drugs used in the treatment of metabolic disorders, diabetes, and obesity. Her research began at Rockefeller in the mid-1970s, when she first began working on peptide synthesis in Bruce Merrifield’s laboratory, and continued at Massachusetts General Hospital, where she discovered and characterized GLP-1, and later as a member of Ralph Steinman’s Rockefeller laboratory. The mission of the National Academy is to provide the nation and government with objective advice on issues in science and technology. Founded in 1863 under Abraham Lincoln, the it is one of the world’s most prestigious professional societies; scientists are elected by their peers to membership for outstanding contributions to research.
Grad student Héloïse Carion of the Marraffini lab was interviewed by Molecular Cell about her latest paper on the activation of bacterial programmed cell death by phage inhibitors of host immunity. Check it out here:
Today the world will celebrate the 55th anniversary of Earth Day. This year’s theme, OUR POWER, OUR PLANET™, calls on individuals and institutions to take bold, meaningful action toward a livable future. At Rockefeller, this message echoes throughout the campus—where infrastructure upgrades, changes in what food is served on campus, waste reduction, and laboratory innovation are all helping shape a more sustainable institution. The university’s Sustainability Committee continues to guide progress across these initiatives. One of the most impactful milestones to date is Rockefeller’s 41% reduction in carbon emissions, a benchmark recognized by New York City’s Mayor’s Carbon Challenge. Looking ahead, the campus is exploring further electrification—transitioning away from steam and gas systems in favor of electricity—requiring both infrastructure upgrades and external partnerships. This Earth Day, we invite every member of the Rockefeller community to reflect on how individual choices can support collective progress. Our power lies in the actions we take every day—on campus, at home, and in our communities. Learn more about sustainability at Rockefeller:
This #EarthDay we are highlighting Rockefeller's Avi Flamholz, who is dedicated to leveraging microbial forces to combat climate change. The accuracy of climate models will have a huge impact on the future, affecting sectors far beyond climate scientists, from insurance companies to international relations. According to Flamholz, microbiology currently plays an underappreciated role both in predicting and engineering solutions for climate change. Understanding how communities of microbes release and absorb carbon in different environments will help lead to more accurate climate models and will inform strategies to manage carbon fluxes. Avi combines methods from genomics, synthetic biology, and computational science to understand the collective metabolism of microbial communities, with the goal of accurately predicting microbial contributions to global warming. Flamholz's research aims to map a future where microbiology knowledge becomes a key resource contributing to our collective efforts to cohabitate with our living planet. Learn more here:
Last week, Rockefeller's Elaine Fuchs received the Hope Funds 2025 Award of Excellence for her work on stem cells that has advanced understanding of tissue regeneration and inflammatory disorders as well as malignancy and tumor resistance. Congrats!
Open access, peer reviewed, and co-owned, the Journal of Humanity Immunity, from Rockefeller University Press represents a new business model in scientific publishing. “This is long overdue,” says Rockefeller University’s Jean-Laurent Casanova, JHI’s founding editor-in-chief. “Since the 1950s, our field has made spectacular medical and biological contributions to the understanding of human immunity. The field has matured to the point that it needs its own journal to keep pace with the rate of discoveries.” “It’s an exciting new direction for scientific publishing,” says Susan King, editorial director of Rockefeller University Press. “Many editors are taking back control of their field by leaving for-profit journals and joining forces with not-for-profit publishers. We’re delighted to be part of that wave.”
Rockefeller's James Krueger was named President of the American Skin Association, Inc. Congratulations! More details here: https://lnkd.in/e34w37m7
Rockefeller's Erich Jarvis is part of the team of 123 scientists who have sequenced the complete genomes of six ape species. DNA sequences for chimpanzees, orangutan and more will help scientists to determine what sets humans apart from other apes.
Congrats to hashtag#RockefellerAlum Sichen Yang on being named a 2025 Schmidt Science Fellow! Yang aims to explore the role of the immune system in maintaining healthy internal tissue in addition to its role in defending against external pathogens.
