The Vagelos Institute

Medical progress depends on understanding fundamental biology. At this moment, through AI and emerging modalities, we have unprecedented opportunities to advance knowledge of human biology and translate it into revolutionary new treatments and cures for disease.

To advance fundamental discoveries that will shape the future of human health, the Vagelos Institute brings together the fields of structural biology, biochemistry, genomics, immunology, and metabolism, with AI fully integrated into its research and work processes.

Supported by a $400M founding gift from Roy and Diana Vagelos, the Vagelos Institute will push the frontiers of basic science and transform medicine by:

• Attracting and empowering a core of exceptional scientists.
• Catalyzing innovation and collaboration across VP&S and Columbia University.
• Developing next-generation tools and technologies for basic research. 

Drawing on Columbia’s broader strengths, including VP&S’s exceptional basic science and CUIMC’s leading, diverse clinical enterprise, the Institute will create unusual opportunities to connect foundational discovery to major questions in human biology and disease.

Continued scientific progress is the foundation for solving our most pressing medical problems.

 Roy Vagelos, MD

Education

The Vagelos Institute seeks not only to advance transformative biomedical discovery, but also to develop a sustainable model for scientific leadership in the 21st century. In addition to supporting exceptional research, the Institute invests in the next generation of scientists and physician-scientists through innovative training, mentoring, and career development programs. The Institute seeks to advance transformative biomedical discovery while creating a more sustainable and trusted future for science and the scientists who pursue it.

Learn more about the Vagelos Institute's Biomedical Research Education PhD Programs and Columbia’s MD-PhD Dual Degree Program.

Collaborators

Situated in New York City and connected to a dense research network that includes the New York Genome Center, NY Structural Biology Center, and the BioHub, the Vagelos Institute operates within one of the world’s richest biomedical ecosystems.

The Vagelos Institute collaborates with other leading research initiatives at Columbia, including the Columbia Initiative in Cell Engineering and Therapy, Precision Medicine, the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, and the Zuckerman Institute for Mind Brain and Behavior.

Roy Vagelos, MD

P. Roy Vagelos, MD, is widely celebrated as a physician, scientist, executive in the pharmaceutical industry, and philanthropist. He graduated in 1954 from Columbia University’s medical school, which now bears his name, the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons (VP&S). At the National Institutes of Health, he conducted fundamental research on lipid metabolism that later led to the development of statin drugs, which transformed cardiovascular medicine. Dr. Vagelos spent 19 years at Merck & Co., Inc., where, under his leadership as board chair and CEO, the company was recognized by Fortune as the most admired corporation in America for seven years in a row. There, he led the effort to ensure that Mectizan, an anti-parasitic medication that prevents and treats river blindness, would be provided free around the world. This effort has saved the vision of hundreds of millions of people and largely established the model of corporate giving. Dr. Vagelos is the author of more than 100 scientific papers and an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society. He has received many honors, including the American Chemical Society’s Enzyme Chemistry Award, the National Academy of Sciences’ Chemistry in Service to Society Award, and induction into the National Business Hall of Fame. He is chair emeritus of the VP&S Board of Advisors and has mentored many leaders of science and industry, including Ritankar Das of Forta Health and Dr. George Yancopoulous of Regeneron.

Katrina Armstrong, MD

Katrina Armstrong, MD, is Founding Director of the Vagelos Institute and the Harold and Margaret Hatch Professor in the Faculty of Medicine. From 2022–2026, she served as Dean of the Faculties of Health Sciences and the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Executive Vice President for Health and Biomedical Sciences, and Chief Executive Officer of Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

Dr. Armstrong is an internationally recognized investigator in medical decision making, quality of care, and cancer prevention and outcomes, an award-winning teacher, and a primary care physician. She has served on multiple advisory panels for academic and federal organizations and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, and the American Society for Clinical Investigation. Before joining Columbia, Dr. Armstrong was the Jackson Professor of Clinical Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Chair of the Department of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief of Massachusetts General Hospital, and Professor of Epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Before joining Harvard, she was Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, Associate Director of the Abramson Cancer Center, and Co-Director of the Robert Wood Johnson Clinical Scholars Program at the University of Pennsylvania.