Discoveries Advancing Medicine

The founders of The Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research set out on a grand experiment. Convinced that medical progress would come from both laboratory research and the study of disease in hospital patients, they built cutting-edge clinical and laboratory facilities and recruited the best minds — among them physicians, chemists, microbiologists, virologists, immunologists, and neuroscientists. Most importantly, they supported physician-scientists who were committed to bridging science and medicine for the benefit of humanity.

On the centennial of The Rockefeller University Hospital, this experiment can be judged a remarkable success. The interchange between laboratory and clinic has truly been a two-way street, with benefits in both directions. Thus, studies of pneumonia patients in the Hospital, for example, led to the foundational concept of modern biology, that DNA carries hereditary information. And investigations that began in laboratories have yielded new therapies and diagnostic tests. With the continued support of the university and support from a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) from NIH's National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), The Rockefeller University Hospital is poised for continuing this remarkable record of achievement in its next century.

The Discoveries Advancing Medicine briefly describe more than 100 contributions made by Rockefeller faculty members as well as by the first Superintendent of Nursing, Ms. Nancy P. Ellicott. The vast majority of the discoveries were made at Rockefeller, but some were made in part or whole by faculty members while they were at other institutions. The contributions by all 23 Rockefeller-affiliated faculty members who received the Nobel Prize are included in the collection.

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Discoveries Advancing Medicine