The Rockefeller University Hospital has been recognized for excellence in biomedical research since its founding in 1910. Understanding the infectious process, the immune system, basic physiology and cellular biology and molecular biology have been the bedrock of the research performed here. The hospital collaborates with other institutions such as the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and the New York Presbyterian Medical Center.

Patients and volunteers who consent to participate in research studies (protocols) are treated without charge. Unlike most hospitals, the Rockefeller University Hospital does not routinely provide standard diagnostic and treatment services. Admission is selective: patients are chosen by Hospital physicians solely because they have an illness or condition being studied, or because they are healthy volunteers and are also needed for study. Thus, all research participants are volunteers, and as such are important partners in the research process. Without volunteers and patients, significant advances in biomedical knowledge could not otherwise be achieved.