Dr. Richard Axel, who won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004 with Dr. Linda B. Buck, has announced his resignation from his current position at Columbia University due to his past association with Jeffrey Epstein. Axel said he will continue his research but will not remain co-director of the Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute after the latest slide from the Epstein files revealed his close contact with Epstein over the years.
Axel expressed his regret for his association with Epstein and said it was a “huge error in judgement,” apologizing to his friends, students and colleagues. “What has come to light about Epstein’s horrific behavior, and the harm he caused so many people, makes my association with him even more painful and unwarranted,” Axel said.Columbia University said it found no evidence that Dr. Axel violated any university policy or law, but accepted his decision to resign.
The university said it will continue to fund members of the Accel Lab to complete their ongoing research.
“Epstein is very intelligent and meticulous.”
In a 2007 New York Magazine article, Dr. Axel Epstein was described as highly intelligent and exploratory. Epstein had the ability to make connections that other minds could not, and Dr. Axel said it provided a peak inside Epstein’s brain, which shortened his attention span as he was able to comprehend all the data he needed in 15 minutes. The Epstein files reveal that Dr. Axel had regular correspondence with Epstein and was invited to his private island.
A 2011 flight ticket for Dr. Axel and his wife to the island was also found. Their relationship continued even after Epstein’s guilty plea and up to five months before Epstein’s 2019 suicide in prison. Dr. Axel is not the first Columbia name linked to Epstein. The dental school announced it had “taken action” against two Columbia University administrators who maintained relationships, solicited donations from Epstein and helped Karina Shuliak, whom Epstein had previously referred to as his girlfriend, gain admission in 2012 after she was initially rejected earlier that year.
