³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ

Skip to main content
Skip to desktop navigation to bypass mobile navigation
Skip to main navigation to bypass utlility navigation
""

YU's Contributions to the World

Since its establishment in 1886, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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)
  • ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ researchers demonstrated the association between reduced levels of high-density lipoproteins (HDL), or "good" cholesterol, and heart disease
  • Researchers at ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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 ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ played a fundamental role in the historic, international project to map the human genome
  • Researchers at ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ were among the first to test vaccines as a treatment for multiple forms of cancer
  • ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ researchers helped to develop groundbreaking new protocols for the treatment of diabetes based on more sophisticated methods of monitoring glucose levels
  • In 1994, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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)
  • ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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 ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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 ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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)
  • ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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 ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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 ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ identified the mechanism of action of Taxol, one of the most significant cancer treatment drugs ever developed (Susan B. Horwitz, PhD)
  • In 1974, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ'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 ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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 ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ pioneered research leading to improved methods of avoiding organ transplant rejection (Stanley G. Nathenson, MD)
  • In 1964, ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ was the first medical school in the United States to establish a Department of Genetics
  • Researchers at ³ÉÈËÊÓƵɫÇéƬ 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)
Skip past mobile menu to footer