YUs Contributions to the World

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