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's Contributions to the World

Since its establishment in 1886, has been a world leader of academic research and scientific development with its cutting-edge discoveries and innovations.

Here is a sampling of our groundbreaking contributions:

  • In 2006, becomes the only medical institution in New York City, New York State and the Northeast to serve as a research site for the Hispanic Community Health Study, the largest research study of Hispanic health ever (Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, PhD, principal investigator)
  • researchers demonstrated the association between reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, and heart disease
  • Researchers at developed pioneering techniques for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer based on the genetics of both the tumor and the patient (Robert H. Singer, PhD)
  • Researchers at played a fundamental role in the historic, international project to map the human genome
  • Researchers at were among the first to test vaccines as a treatment for multiple forms of cancer
  • researchers helped to develop groundbreaking new protocols for the treatment of diabetes based on more sophisticated methods of monitoring glucose levels
  • In 1994, becomes the only New York City medical school selected by the NIH to participate in the Women's Health Initiative, the largest research study of women's health ever (Sylvia Wassertheil-Smoller, PhD, principal investigator)
  • researchers identified a key missing neurotransmitter in the brain of Alzheimer's patients, a finding that influenced all subsequent Alzheimer's disease research (Peter Davies, PhD)
  • Researchers at were the first to use gene therapy techniques in the laboratory to successfully treat abnormally high cholesterol
  • In 1988, the first Center for AIDS Research at was funded by the NIH. Researchers at the center were the first to identify pediatric AIDS as a distinct disease and established the first day-care center in the world for children with AIDS (Arye Rubinstein, MD)
  • researchers helped discover the mechanisms responsible for the extraordinary diversity of antibodies and their remarkable precision in mounting an immune response (Matthew D. Scharff, MD)
  • Researchers at founded the science of neuroendocrinology, which gave rise to a new understanding of how the body's cells communicate with each other
  • In 1976, researchers at identified the mechanism of action of Taxol, one of the most significant cancer treatment drugs ever developed (Susan B. Horwitz, PhD)
  • In 1974, 's Liver Research Center—now the Marion Bessin Liver Research Center—was the first institute in the nation devoted to the study of liver disease and injury
  • Researchers at discovered structural abnormalities of brain cells that explain deficiencies in cognitive development, greatly contributing to our understanding of mental retardation (Dominick P. Purpura, MD)
  • Researchers at pioneered research leading to improved methods of avoiding organ transplant rejection (Stanley G. Nathenson, MD)
  • In 1964, was the first medical school in the United States to establish a Department of Genetics
  • Researchers at developed landmark techniques to grow human tissue cells under laboratory conditions, an advance that helped make possible all subsequent cellular biology research (Harry Eagle, MD)