Nobel laureate Richard Axel steps down from Columbia brain institute amid Epstein ties
Nobel Prize-winning scientist Richard Axel is resigning as co-director of Columbia's Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute after scrutiny over his past association with Jeffrey Epstein. He says the decision is to restore trust, will continue his lab's research at the Zuckerman Institute, and will resign as an investigator with Columbia's Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Columbia notes no policy or legal violation, but DOJ files show Axel was in contact with Epstein.