Richard P. Lifton to join Harvard Corporation

Renowned in biomedical research and higher education, Richard P. Lifton will be joining the Harvard Corporation this summer, as announced by the University on Monday. A scientist and physician, recognized as a leader in leveraging genetics and genomics for understanding human illness, Lifton has held the position of the 11th president of The Rockefeller University since 2016 and also directs the institution’s Laboratory of Human Genetics and Genomics.

“Rick is regarded by his peers as a person of profound integrity, exceptional intellectual curiosity and creativity, distinct incisiveness, and sound judgment,” expressed President Alan M. Garber and Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker in a communication to the Harvard community. “He has devoted his life’s work to the enhancement of higher education and the progress and promise of science, embracing and exemplifying the pursuit of academic excellence. We eagerly anticipate welcoming Rick Lifton to the Corporation this summer as we navigate these significant and challenging times for our university and others.”

Under Lifton’s guidance, Rockefeller has reinforced its reputation as one of the world’s foremost research institutions by promoting support for new initiatives in basic, translational, and clinical research, establishing a new campus in Manhattan, and collaborating in the inception of Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York. Lifton is also a strong advocate for Rockefeller’s multidisciplinary faculty, whose members have collectively received two Nobel Prizes, three Lasker Awards, and two Breakthrough Prizes in life sciences throughout his tenure. 

“Harvard is a national treasure for its leadership in education, scholarship, and research. Its generation of new knowledge advances the betterment of humanity with global impact,” remarked Lifton. “I’m privileged to join President Garber and the other esteemed members of the Corporation, and I am eager to collaborate with them and other colleagues to ensure that Harvard maintains and enhances its extraordinary contributions to society.”

Lifton’s groundbreaking research has focused on genetic materials that underpin common health issues in humans, encompassing cardiovascular diseases, neoplasia, kidney disorders, and osteoporosis. He is particularly celebrated for identifying mutations in 20 genes that regulate blood pressure to extreme highs or lows by altering renal salt reabsorption, research that has influenced public health initiatives and treatment strategies globally.

Lifton became part of the faculty at Yale University in 1993. Over nearly 25 years, he served as chair of the Department of Genetics at Yale Medical School, was an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institution, and directed two research centers. He achieved the rank of Sterling Professor, the highest academic designation at Yale, and was a participant in Yale’s presidential search committee.

Prior to his recruitment to Yale, Lifton was on the faculty of Harvard Medical School from 1986 to 1993. He completed his medical residency at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he was appointed chief medical resident. A summa cum laude graduate of Dartmouth College, he holds an M.D. and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Stanford University.

Throughout his career, Lifton has participated on numerous boards, committees, and councils pertaining to scientific innovation and science policy, including advisory boards for the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard along with Massachusetts General Hospital. His extensive roles have included chairing the White House’s Precision Medicine Initiative, co-chairing the International Commission on the Clinical Use of Human Germline Genome Editing, and being a member of both the governing council of the National Academies and the advisory committee for the director of the National Institutes of Health. He has been involved with fiduciary boards and scientific advisory boards for various biotechnology and pharmaceutical enterprises, and participated in the presidential search committee for the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine). 

“Richard Lifton is a considerate and highly esteemed leader with a strong commitment to advancing education, science, and human health,” stated Vivian Hunt, president of the Board of Overseers. “His expertise in guiding a prestigious research university and his extensive involvement as an admired leader and consulted adviser within the larger biomedical spectrum will bolster Harvard’s governing boards. I know my colleagues are keen to collaborate with him.”

In accordance with Harvard’s charter, Lifton was elected by the Corporation with the approval of the Board of Overseers. He will become a fellow of Harvard College on July 1, filling the position left vacant by the anticipated departure of Shirley Tilghman, a distinguished life scientist and president emerita of Princeton University.

Garber and Pritzker expressed their gratitude to Tilghman for “having brought to the Corporation an exceptional combination of university leadership experience, academic prominence, scientific achievements, engagement with various other institutions, and unwavering commitment to higher education’s highest ideals.” They conveyed their sincere appreciation to Tilghman for her “exemplary service” that “sets a benchmark for us all.”

Formally known as the President and Fellows of Harvard College, the Harvard Corporation is the oldest corporation in the Western Hemisphere. Established in 1650, the Corporation exercises fiduciary responsibility regarding the University’s academic, financial, and physical assets and overall welfare. Comprising 13 members, the Corporation represents one of Harvard’s two governing boards. Members of Harvard’s alternate governing board, the Board of Overseers, are elected by holders of Harvard degrees.