Richard Axel

Richard Axel
Richard Axel
	Axel in 2014
Born	July 2, 1946; New York City, U.S.
Education	Columbia University (BA); Johns Hopkins University (MD);
Spouse	Cornelia Bargmann
Awards	Richard Lounsbery Award (1989); Perl-UNC Prize (2002); Gairdner Foundation International Award (2003); Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2004);
	Scientific career
Fields	Neuroscience
Institutions	Columbia University
Notable students	Linda Buck; David J. Anderson; Catherine Dulac; David Julius; Richard Scheller; Leslie B. Vosshall; Vanessa Ruta; Bianca Jones Marlin; Fan Wang (neuroscientist);
Website	www.axellab.columbia.edu

Richard Axel (born July 2, 1946) is an American molecular biologist and university professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Columbia University and investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. His work on the olfactory system won him and Linda Buck, a former postdoctoral research scientist in his group, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004.

In February 2026, Axel resigned as co-director of Columbia University’s Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute, calling his past association with Jeffrey Epstein "a serious error in judgment" and apologizing for compromising trust. He also stepped down from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.