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Columbia brain institute co-director and Nobel laureate Richard Axel steps down over Epstein ties

Axel, linked to Jeffrey Epstein in over 900 Justice Department files, resigns from Columbia and Howard Hughes Medical Institute roles to focus on research, university says no policy breach.

  • Richard Axel said in a Tuesday statement he will resign as co-director of Columbia's Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute to focus on research and teaching.
  • The DOJ files show Axel and Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, corresponded since at least 2010, with Axel appearing in over 900 files.
  • In a public apology, Axel wrote `What has emerged about Epstein's appalling conduct, the harm that he has caused to so many people, makes my association with him all the more painful and inexcusable` and announced he is stepping down as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator after more than 50 years at Columbia.
  • Columbia University said it has seen no evidence that Axel violated university policy or the law and thanked him for his leadership, adding he felt it appropriate to relinquish his post amid ongoing fallout.
  • He is the latest in a string of departures since late January when the Department of Justice released more than 3 million pages, prompting resignations and arrests including Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor.
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Bloomberg Law broke the news in Arlington, United States on Wednesday, February 25, 2026.
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