Dr. Richard Axel, who shared the 2004 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Dr. Linda B. Barker, announced that he is resigning from his current position at Columbia University due to his past relationship with Columbia University Jeffrey Epstein. Axel said he will continue his research but will no longer serve as co-director of the Zuckerman Institute for Mind, Brain, and Behavior after the latest batch of Epstein files revealed years of close contact with Epstein. Axel regretted his association with Epstein, saying it was a “serious error of judgment” and apologized to his friends, students and colleagues. “Epstein’s appalling behavior, the harm he caused to so many people, makes my association with him all the more painful and inexcusable,” 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 they will continue to fund members of Axel’s lab to complete their ongoing research.
‘Epstein was very smart and probing’
In a 2007 New York Magazine article, Dr. Axel described Epstein as extremely intelligent and inquisitive. Epstein’s ability to make connections that others could not, Dr. Axel said, provided a spike in Epstein’s brain and his short attention span because he could grasp all the data he needed in 15 minutes. The Epstein files show that Dr. Axel corresponded frequently with Epstein and was invited to his private island. A flight ticket for Dr Axel and his wife to the island in 2011 was also discovered. Even after Epstein pleaded guilty, their relationship continued until five months before Epstein committed suicide in prison in 2019. Dr. Axel is not the first Colombian name to be linked to Epstein. The School of Dental Medicine announced it had “taken action” against two Columbia University officials who maintained a relationship with Epstein, solicited donations from him and helped Karyna Shuliak, whom Epstein previously called his girlfriend, gain admission in 2012 after she was initially rejected earlier that year.
