Previous Events - The Rockefeller University

November 18, 2025 – Daniel Kronauer, Ph.D. The Social Lives of Ants: From Simple Brains to Complex Behavior

October 9, 2025 – Li Zhao, Ph.D. The Birth of New Genes: Uncovering Nature’s Genetic Innovations

September 16, 2025 – 2025 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Maria Jasin, Ph.D. Maria Jasin, Ph.D. Video

May 8, 2025 – Dana Orange, M.D., M.Sc. Inflammation and Pain: Advances in Understanding Arthritis and Other Autoimmune Diseases

April 22, 2025 – Kivanç Birsoy, Ph.D. How to Starve a Tumor: Understanding the Biology of Metabolism in Physiology and Cancer Video

December 5, 2024 – Elizabeth Campbell, Ph.D. At the Forefront of Basic Research: New Strategies to Outsmart Drug-Resistant Microbes Video

November 20, 2024 – Jeffrey M. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D. Obesity: Causes and the New Treatments Video

27th Annual Lecture and Luncheon – Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D. From the Clinic to the Bench and Back: Insights into the Genetics of Neurological Disorders

May 1, 2024 – Ali H. Brivanlou, Ph.D. and Janna Levin, Ph.D. Genesis of Life and the Universe: Time Travel in Developmental Embryology and Cosmology

2024 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Svetlana Mojsov, Ph.D. Svetlana Mojsov, Ph.D. Video

2024 Spring Morning Lecture – Elizabeth Comen, M.D. Breast Cancer and Women’s Health: Past, Present, and Future Video

2023 Fall Morning Lecture – Sofia Axelrod, Ph.D. Sleep and Beyond: How Basic Research is Leading a Revolution in Circadian Medicine Video

November 15, 2023 – A. James Hudspeth, M.D., Ph.D. Pathways to Regeneration: Uncovering New Possibilities in Medicine Video

2023 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Lily Jan, Ph.D. and Eve Marder, Ph.D. Lily Jan, Ph.D. and Eve Marder, Ph.D. Video

26th Annual Lecture and Luncheon – Elaine V. Fuchs, Ph.D. Skin Stem Cells: Coping with Stress, Inflammation, and Cancer

April 27, 2023 – Erich D. Jarvis, Ph.D. and Constantina Theofanopoulou, Ph.D. Hardwired for Song and Dance: The Neurobiology of Language and Movement Video

2022 CELEBRATING SCIENCE Benefit – Sohail Tavazoie, M.D., Ph.D. Taking Aim at Moving Targets: How Promising New Cancer Drugs Block Metastasis

Inaugural Symposium for The Price Family Center for the Social Brain – David Anderson, Ph.D. ’83 Understanding Our Social Brain: How Neurons Encode Innate Social Behaviors

2022 Fall Morning Lecture – Dana Orange, M.D., M.Sc. New Insights into Rheumatoid Arthritis: How Self-Testing Could Revolutionize the Fight Against Autoimmune Diseases Video

Kellen Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund Speaker Series – Shruti Naik, Ph.D. and Ekaterina V. Vinogradova, Ph.D. Candid Conversations: Illuminating the Tenure-track Pathway

2022 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Katalin Karikó, Ph.D. Katalin Karikó Video

2022 25th Anniversary Lecture and Luncheon – Priya Rajasethupathy, M.D., Ph.D. Unlocking the Science of Memory Video

2022 Spring Webinar for Benefactors & Friends – Holly S. Andersen, M.D. Heart Disease and Stroke in 2022: Research, Treatment, Prevention Video

A Portrait of Discovery: Five Rockefeller Trailblazers Who Made Scientific History An Unveiling Celebration Video

Kellen Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund Speaker Series – Karen Akinsanya, Ph.D., Leigh Baxt, Ph.D., Jeanne Farrell, Ph.D., and Jessica Hopfield, Ph.D. ’91 Pathways in Bioscience: Four Prespectives Beyond the Bench Video

2021 Women & Science Fall Morning Webinar – Kate Jeffrey, Ph.D. Why Are Diseases of Affluence and Age Rising? Video

2021 CELEBRATING SCIENCE Virtual Benefit Honoring Pfizer and Dr. Albert Bourla, Chairman and CEO

Fall Webinar for Benefactors & Friends – Daniel Mucida, Ph.D. The Inside Story: How the Microbiome Influences Communication Between Our Nervous and Immune Systems Video

2021 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Pamela J. Björkman, Ph.D. Pamela J. Björkman, Ph.D. Video

24th Annual Women & Science Lecture – Vanessa Ruta, Ph.D., ’05 Nature vs. Nurture: Exploring the Building Blocks of Social Behavior Video

Kellen Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund Speaker Series – Brandy Houser, Ph.D. Demystifying the Therapeutic Development Ecosystem: A Roadmap of What You Need to Know Video

Women & Science Spring Morning Webinar – Mandë Holford, Ph.D., ‘03 From Beach to Bench and Beyond: Venom’s Therapeutic Potential for Pain and Cancer Video

Kellen Women’s Entrepreneurship Fund Speaker Series – Karen Akinsanya, Ph.D Conversations with Women Leaders in Bioscience Video

Women & Science Fall Morning Webinar – Natalie L. Rasgon, M.D., Ph.D. The Brain on Stress: A Pandemic of Depression, Diabetes and Dementia Video

2020 CELEBRATING SCIENCE Virtual Benefit The Convergence of Science and Medicine

2020 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Joanne Chory, Ph.D. Joanne Chory, Ph.D. Video

2020 Fall Webinar – Paul Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. Burning Question: Can Some Body Fat Keep You Thin? Video

2020 COVID-19 Webinar for W&S – Marina Caskey, M.D. Antibody Therapeutics and Pathways to Prevention Video

2019 Fall Breakfast Program – Xioawei Zhuang, Ph.D. Visualizing the Invisible: Bio-Imaging at the Nanoscale and Genomic Scale

2019 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Xiaowei Zhuang, Ph.D. Xiaowei Zhuang, Ph.D. Video

2019 Fall Evening Program – Sidney Strickland, Ph.D. The Clot Thickens: New Concepts for Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease Video

2019 CELEBRATING SCIENCE Benefit – Cori Bargmann, Ph.D. Constant Change: The Ever-Developing Brain

2019 Lecture and Luncheon – Helen H. Hobbs, M.D. Diet, Genes, and Disease Video

2019 Spring Evening Program – Winrich Freiwald, Ph.D., Christina Pressl, M.D. What Makes Us Human? The Neuroscience of Social Intelligence Video

2019 Spring Breakfast Program – Alison North, Ph.D. A Voyage Into an Invisible World How Modern Microscopes are Transforming Science Video

2018 CELEBRATING SCIENCE Benefit – Michael Young, Ph.D. Sleep: A Necessary Luxury

2018 Fall Evening Program – Jue Chen, Ph.D., Roderick MacKinnon, M.D. Science Goes 3-D Revealing the Atomic Secrets Inside Our Cells Video

2018 Fall Breakfast Program – Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D. The CRISPR Revolution Gene Editing and the Unthinkable Power to Control Evolution Video

2018 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D. Jennifer A. Doudna, Ph.D. Video

2018 Lecture and Luncheon – Agata Smogorzewska, M.D., Ph.D. DNA Repair: The Power of Precision Medicine in Treating Cancer

2018 Spring Breakfast Program – Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D., Yejing Ge, Ph.D., Samantha Larsen Women, Science, and Mentoring: NextGen Leaders and Entrepreneurs Video

2018 Beatrice Renfield Lecture – Regina Cunningham, Ph.D., R.N., NEA-BC, FAAN Nursing: A Catalyst to Drive Value in Health Care Video

2017 Fall Breakfast Program – Paula A. Johnson, M.D. Sex and Gender: Critical Components in the Quest for Precision Medicine Video

2017 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – JoAnne Stubbe, Ph.D. JoAnne Stubbe, Ph.D. Video

2017 Fall Evening Program – Priya Rajasethupathy, M.D., Ph.D. Memory: New Insights into the Dynamic Brain Video

2017 Lecture and Luncheon – Leslie Vosshall, Ph.D. Global Health is Local Health: Eradicating Threats From A to Zika Video

2017 Beatrice Renfield Lecture – Gwenyth R. Wallen, Ph.D., R.N. Clinical Research Nursing and Nursing Science: A Perfect Partnership Video

2017 Spring Breakfast Program – Nina V. Fedoroff, Ph.D. GMOs, CRISPR, and Modern Agriculture Video

Special Evening Program – Richard P. Lifton, M.D., Ph.D., Laura Landro A Conversation with Richard P. Lifton led by Laura Landro Video

2016 Fall Breakfast Program – Bonnie L. Bassler, Ph.D. Tiny Conspiracies: Cell to Cell Communication in Bacteria Video

2016 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Bonnie L. Bassler, Ph.D. Bonnie L. Bassler, Ph.D. Video

2016 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Cynthia Kenyon, Ph.D. How Long Could We Live? Harnessing Our Longevity Genes Video

2016 Beatrice Renfield Lecture – Patricia A. Grady, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN Advancing Science, Improving Lives Video

2015 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Helen H. Hobbs, M.D. Helen H. Hobbs, M.D. Video

2015 Fall Breakfast Program – Helen H. Hobbs, M.D. Genetic Disorders of Dietary Excess: Getting to the Heart of the Matte Video

2015 Fall Evening Program – Michael W. Young, Ph.D., Ana C. Krieger, M.D., M.P.H. SLEEP: Why Our Brains and Bodies Need It Video

2015 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Mary Jeanne Kreek, M.D., Laura Landro Understanding Addictions: Genes, Molecular Neurobiology, Behavior, and New Treatment Insights Video

2015 Beatrice Renfield Lecture – Afaf I. Meleis, Dr. P.S. (hon), FAAN NextGen Health Care: The Stars are Aligned Video

2014 Fall Evening Program – Cori Bargmann, Ph.D. At the Frontier of Neuroscience: Launching the BRAIN Initiative Video

2014 Fall Evening Program – Margaret McCarthy, Ph.D. The Pink and Blue in Gray Matter: Hormones, Gender, and the Developing Mind Photos Video

2014 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Lucy Shapiro, Ph.D. Lucy Shapiro, Ph.D. Video

2014 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D. Stem Cells and the Promise of Regenerative Medicine Photos Video

2014 Beatrice Renfield Lecture – Lily Thomas, Ph.D., R.N., FAAN Implementation of Evidence-Based Nursing: Implications for Leadership, Education, and Practice Video

2014 Winter Evening Program – Sohail Tavazoie, M.D., Ph.D., Jennifer Stein, M.D., Ph.D., Debra Black Sun Exposure, Genetics and Melanoma: A Worldwide Health Challenge Photos Video

2013 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D. Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D. Video

2013 Fall Breakfast Forum – Holly S. Andersen, M.D. Affairs of the Heart: Gender Differences in Heart Disease and Stroke Photos Video

2013 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Cori Bargmann, Ph.D. Ancient Molecules and the Modern Brain: Understanding Our Social Nature Video

2013 Winter Evening Program – John Coates, Ph.D., Linda Wilbrecht, Ph.D. The Biology of Risk-Taking: How Age, Gender and Experience Affect Decisions and Behavior Video

2013 Beatrice Renfield Lecture – Diana J. Mason, Ph.D., RN, FAAN Research and Innovations in Nursing and Health Care Video

2012 Fall Evening Program – Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., Rachel Yehuda, Ph.D. Illuminating Resilience: How Stress and Trauma Can Transform Us Video

2012 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Joan A. Steitz, Ph.D. Video

2012 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Titia de Lange, Ph.D. When Good Genes Go Bad: Deciphering the Cancer Genome Video

2012 Beatrice Renfield Lecture Past, Present, and Future of Clinical Research Nursing Video

2012 Spring Breakfast Forum – Kimberly Mowry, Ph.D. A Pattern for Life: How a Single Egg Cell Sets the Stage for Development Video

2011 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Brenda Milner, Ph.D.

2011 Fall Breakfast Forum – Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D. Stem Cells: What These Lifelong Companions Can Teach Us About Cancer, Aging and Regenerative Medicine Video

2011 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Leslie Vosshall, Ph.D., Frederic Malle Scent & Behavior: An Evocative Relationship Photos Video

2011 Beatrice Renfield Lecture – Deborah A. Chyun, Ph.D., RN, FAHA, FAAN Diabetes and Heart Disease: Mentoring the Next Generation of Nurse-Scientists Photos

2011 Spring Breakfast Forum – Agata Smogorzewska, M.D., Ph.D. Regarding the Resilient Genome: How Cells Block Cancer and Age Gracefully Photos Video

2010 Fall Evening Program – Sarah F. Leibowitz, Ph.D., Evelyn Attia, M.D. Body Image, Nutrition, and Eating Disorders: Insights from Neuroscience and Psychiatry Photos Video

2010 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Mary-Claire King, Ph.D. and Janet D. Rowley, M.D. Photos

2010 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Jan L. Breslow, M.D., Barry S. Coller, M.D. The Latest Word on Heart Disease and Stroke: Research, Prevention, and Treatment Video

2010 Spring Breakfast Forum – Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., Darcy Kelley, Ph.D., Halla Tomasdottir Hormones and Profits: Is Gender Balance Better for Business? Video

2009 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Suzanne Cory, Ph.D., F.R.S.

2009 Fall Breakfast Forum – Sohail Tavazoie, M.D., Ph.D. Stopping Cancer in its Tracks: New Approaches to Preventing Metastasis

2009 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Cori Bargmann, Ph.D., Eric Kandel, M.D., Leslie Vosshall, Ph.D. The Brain Trust Speaks: Three Leading Investigators Consider the Future of Neuroscience

2009 Beatrice Renfield Lecture Professional Nursing in the 21st Century Challenges & Opportunities

2008 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize – Marilyn A. DeLuca, Ph.D., RN Dr. Elizabeth H. Blackburn, Dr. Carol W. Greider, and Dr. Vicki Lundblad

2009 Spring Breakfast Forum – David G. Nathan, M.D. The Cancer Treatment Revolution

2008 Fall Breakfast Forum – Mary Sano, Ph.D., Samuel Gandy, M.D., Ph.D., Paul Greengard, Ph.D. Can Science Meet the Challenges of Alzheimer’s Disease?

2008 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Mary Jeanne Kreek, M.D. Understanding Addiction: Genes, Behavior and New Treatment Insights

2007 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Dr. Gail Martin, Dr. Beatrice Mintz, and Dr. Elizabeth Robertson

2008 Spring Breakfast Forum – Sarah Schlesinger, M.D. At Long Last a Cervical Cancer Vaccine is Here: Are Other Vaccines on the Way?

2008 Winter Evening Program – Joel Cohen, Ph.D., Dr. P.H., Deborah Balk, Ph.D., Ellen Brennan-Galvin, Ph.D., Darren Walker, Esq. The Future of Cities: How Climate Change, Population Trends and Urbanization Will Transform Our World

2007 Fall Evening Program – Cynthia Kenyon, Ph.D. Aging and the Discovery of “Longevity Genes”

2007 Fall Breakfast Forum – Sidney Strickland, Ph.D. When Good Nerves Go Bad: Stem Cell Treatment of Neurological Disease

2007 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Titia de Lange, Ph.D., Mary Jeanne Kreek, M.D., Leslie Vosshall, Ph.D. Women In Science: Pioneers, Progress and the Unfinished Agenda

2007 Spring Breakfast Forum – Sarah F. Leibowitz, Ph.D. Fats, Sugar and Alcohol: A Delicate Balance in Body Weight Regulation

2007 Winter Evening Program – Barry S. Coller, M.D. Translational Research—How the Drug Pipeline Works

2006 Fall Evening Program – Eric Kandel, M.D. We Are What We Remember: Memory and the Biological Basis of Individuality

2006 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Dr. Mary Frances Lyon

2006 Fall Breakfast Forum – Darcy Kelley, Ph.D., Bruce McEwen, Ph.D., Margaret Polaneczky, M.D., Samuel E. Gandy, M.D., Ph.D. Hormone Replacement Therapy Revisited: Four Years Later

2006 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Cori Bargmann, Ph.D. Simple Creatures, Complex Lives: Understanding the Genetic Basis of Behavior

2006 Spring Breakfast Forum – Susan Lindquist, Ph.D. Prions, Mad Cow Disease and Shape-shifters of Memory

2006 Winter Evening Program – Robert B. Darnell, M.D., Ph.D. Outwitting Cancer: The Promise of New Vaccine Therapies

2005 Fall Evening Program – Martha Farah, Ph.D., Bruce McEwen, Ph.D. In an Era of Prozac and Ritalin—Is Brain Enhancement Ethical? Is It Smart?

2005 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Dr. Philippa Marrack

2005 Fall Breakfast Forum – Leslie Vosshall, Ph.D. Scents and Sensibility

2005 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Paul Nurse, Ph.D., Madhav Dhodapkar, M.D., Titia de Lange, Ph.D., Anne Moore, Ph.D. Cancer Treatment and Prevention—Where Are We Headed?

2005 Spring Breakfast Forum – Eric Kandel, Ph.D. We Are What We Remember: Memory and the Biological Basis of Individuality

2005 Winter Evening Program – Jan L. Breslow, M.D., Barry S. Coller, M.D. Affairs of the Heart: Recent Insights into Cardiovascular Disease and Stroke

2004 Inaugural Pearl Meister Greengard Prize Dr. Nicole Le Douarin

2004 Fall Breakfast Forum – Sarah J. Schlesinger, M.D. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Vaccines—and More

2004 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Mamphela Ramphele, Ph.D. Women’s Health and Development: A Global Perspective

2004 Spring Breakfast Forum – Ali Brivanlou, Ph.D. The Promise of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine

2003 Fall Breakfast Forum – Mary Jeanne Kreek, M.D., Bruce McEwen, Ph.D. A Conversation about the Biology of Stress and Addiction

2003 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Elaine Fuchs, Ph.D. Is Beauty Skin Deep? The Fascinating Biology of the Skin

2003 Spring Breakfast Forum – Jeffrey M. Friedman, M.D., Ph.D. Weight Loss, Weight Gain: Genetics and the Body-Brain Connection

2002 Fall Breakfast Forum – Darcy Kelley, Ph.D., C. Dominique Toran-Allerand, M.D., Samuel E. Gandy, M.D., Ph.D., Richard S. Bockman, M.D., Ph.D., Jan Breslow, M.D., Bruce McEwen, Ph.D. The Estrogen Question: Science Seeks an Answer

2002 Spring Lecture and Luncheon How Children Learn: Language, Hearing & the Brain

2002 Spring Breakfast Forum – Lisa Drakeman, Ph.D., Teena Lerner, Ph.D. All’s Well that Ends Well: What Chomosome Tips Can Tell Us about Cancer and Aging

2001 Fall Breakfast Forum – Nina Bhardwaj, M.D., Ph.D., Robert Darnell, M.D., Ph.D. New Vaccine Strategies: Priming the Immune System to Battle Cancer and Infection

2001 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Terry Gaasterland, Ph.D., Arnold Levine, Ph.D. Biology Enters the Information Age: Combating Illness with Personalized Medicine

2001 Spring Breakfast Forum – Lisa Drakeman, Ph.D., Teena Lerner, Ph.D. Biotechnology in the Post-genomic Era

2000 Fall Breakfast Forum – Richard Bockman, M.D., Ph.D., Jan Breslow, M.D., Howard Fillit, M.D., Barbara Levine, M.D. The Estrogen Question: Aging, Alzheimer’s, Heart Disease, Menopause and Nutrition

2000 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Mary E. Hatten, Ph.D. Dynamic Architecture: Recent Thoughts on the Brain’s Growth and Repair

2000 Spring Breakfast Forum – Robert Lahita, M.D., Ph.D., Jeffrey Ravetch, M.D., Ph.D. Vulnerabilities of the Female Immune System: Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis and other Autoimmune Disorders

1999 Fall Breakfast Forum – Arnold Levine, Ph.D. Putting the Breaks on Cancer: The p53 Tumor Suppressor Gene

1999 Spring Lecture and Luncheon – Titia de Lange, Ph.D. The Problem with Immortality: Chromosomes, Cancer & Aging

1999 Spring Breakfast Forum – Michael W. Young, Ph.D. The Other Biological Clock: How the Body’s Daily Rhythms Affect Life and Death

1998 Fall Breakfast Forum – Jan Breslow, M.D. Heart Disease: Women’s Leading Health Threat

1998 Spring – Darcy Kelley, Ph.D., Bruce McEwen, Ph.D. Estrogen & the Brain: New Insights into Women’s Health