Research & Discovery

This page highlights the astonishing amount of scientific discovery happening at Columbia, one of the world’s leading research universities. 

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Blood and Gene Test Combo Forecasts Alzheimer’s Symptoms Years Before Onset

New findings from Columbia University researchers could help physicians decide when to prescribe preventive treatments.

FIND OUT MORE

The Pepacton Reservoir.
CLIMATE
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ENGINEERING
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HEALTH
A Modular Neuronal Network (MoNNet) with interconnected spheroids, each one featuring several types of brain cells.
NEUROSCIENCE

COLUMBIA SCIENCE IN THE NEWS

The 92-Year-Old Mathematician and the Teenage Apprentice

The New York Times
September 6, 2026

How Scientists Unraveled the Cause of the Devastating Flood in Tibet and Nepal

Science
August 28, 2026

The Summer the Ticks Took Over

The New York Times
August 20, 2026

RECENT STORIES

Ioannis (John) Kymissis, W. Ian Lipkin, and Konstantin Petrukhin
Awards & Milestones

Three Columbia Faculty Elected to National Academy of Inventors

Ioannis (John) Kymissis, W. Ian Lipkin, and Konstantin Petrukhin will be officially inducted as fellows at a ceremony in June.

A human ovary.
Research

Studying Ovaries to Understand How We All Age

New findings from a Columbia researcher suggest that ovarian aging has lessons for us all.

Illustration of a person showing their brain and gastrointestinal tract.
Research

Antidepressants May Act in Gut to Reduce Depression and Anxiety

Targeting antidepressant medications to cells in the gut could cause fewer side effects than current treatments.

Ruben Gonzalez
Office Hours

A New Finding About Protein Motions Has Big Implications for Drug Development

Ruben Gonzalez records movies to discover how biomolecules’ motions determine their functions. He has a major new finding.

A patient's hands in the foreground, and a psychotherapist in the background.
Research

Study Finds Uneven Gains in Psychotherapy Use Among Adults

Psychotherapy has risen among younger adults, women, college-educated individuals, and those with higher family incomes.

Columbia C at Muscota Marsh
Campus & Community

2024 Year in Review: The Top 12 Stories That Garnered Your Attention on ‘Columbia News’

What stories grabbed the attention of our readers in 2024? The results may surprise you.

This artist's illustration depicts a reconstruction of what the Firefly Sparkle galaxy looked like about 600 million years after the big bang if it wasn’t stretched and distorted by a natural effect known as gravitational lensing. This concept is based on images and data from NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope. (NASA, ESA, CSA, Ralf Crawford [STScI]).
In the Lab

Kartheik Iyer Found a Milky Way-Like Galaxy, and Nicknamed It the Firefly Sparkle

Iyer, a NASA Hubble fellow at Columbia, has also developed an AI-powered search tool for astronomers.

A 3D rendering of high-energy particles from cosmic rays.
Research

A New Discovery About the Source of the Vast Energy in Cosmic Rays

New research suggests that these ultra-high energy rays derive their energy from magnetic turbulence.

Integrated circuit at the core of the BIOSYNC implant will interface to the cell reservoirs electrically and optically.
Awards & Milestones

Interdisciplinary Columbia Team Wins ARPA-H Award for Up to $41 Million

Engineering school and medical center researchers will build a wireless bioelectronic device to treat obesity and diabetes.

Clockwise from top left: Swirling hydrogen emissions and stars in an area of the night sky known as the cone nebula. The image was taken by the MDW Survey; Illustration of a brain dividing the day into chapters, including "commuting," "meeting," "lunching," and "relaxing"; illustration of a new technique to deliver anti-cancer cargo to the lungs; image of E. coli bacteria, grown in culture and adhered to a cover slip; illustration of a human brain surrounded by neurons.
Research

13 Columbia Science Discoveries That Had an Impact in 2024

Columbia researchers made major breakthroughs in cancer research, neuroscience, earth science, and other fields this year.

Pathological Tau protein (red-orange) phosphorylation (yellow) leads to disintegration of microtubuli and aggregation to neurofibrillary tangles (orange) in a neuron axon. The transport of synaptic vesicles(spheres) is disrupted.
Research

Identifying Protein Biomarkers Associated With Alzheimer's

New findings from Columbia Public Health could lead to advancements in early Alzheimer's detection and treatment strategies.

A worker observes New York City from atop scaffolding.
Research

Data Science Institute Researchers Pioneer Real-Time AI for Smarter, Safer Cities

In the not-so-distant future, many cities will be powered by AI that continuously analyzes data to improve urban living.