Rita Allen Cassel was the founder of the Rita Allen Foundation and for many years served as its President. Her strong interest in supporting medical research and promoting cultural advancement are threads still found today in the fabric of the Rita Allen Foundation. A theatrical producer in the 1950s and…

A chance introduction to the tricky issue of water pollution first attracted Diana Bautista to science. Growing up in Chicago, she was the first member of her family to finish high school, and she began college as a fine art major. But she floundered, and soon dropped out…

Since the current outbreak of Zika virus was first recognized in Brazil last year, scientists have been steadily uncovering new knowledge about the pathogen, including how it can cause developmental defects in infants born to infected mothers. A new study complements clinical observations of the virus’s effects, revealing that Zika…

Bruce Stillman counts himself lucky to have been born in 1953, the year James Watson and Francis Crick announced their discovery of the double helix structure of DNA, and to have embarked on his research career during the early days of recombinant DNA technology. “It was almost perfect…

Early on in his medical training, Douglas Fearon relished the “scientific problem solving” required to find effective treatments for patients. But as he progressed through his medical degree, internship and residency at Johns Hopkins University, Fearon also grew frustrated by the inability to truly cure diseases.

Growing up in London, Thomas Jessell was immersed in both art and science from an early age. His mother worked as a paintings conservator, while his grandfather was an organic chemist who introduced him to the beauty of molecular structures. “I was torn between whether to train as…

Exponent Philanthropy is showcasing words of wisdom from inspirational funders—adding new videos every month through June 2016 …

Growing up, Susan Dymecki loved biology, math and engineering. But from the time she donned skates at age 13, she was consumed by an entirely nonacademic passion: ice dancing. She competed nationally throughout high school, and after enrolling at the University of Pennsylvania, took a leave of absence…

A conversation with Arnold Levine, Honorary Chair of the Rita Allen Foundation Scholars 40th Anniversary Meeting and former Chair of the Scientific Advisory Committee Arnold Levine got his start in science as a microbiologist, applying new tools from the nascent field of molecular biology to examine how…

Robert Weinberg began his studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with the intention of preparing for medical school, but before long he was dissuaded from this path. “I heard that doctors had to stay up all night,” he says, “so I switched to becoming a biologist.”…