The reason was his long standing contacts with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, News.az reports, citing NBC News.
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The scientist is mentioned in more than 900 documents released at the end of January. The materials indicate that he maintained relations with the financier even after Epstein was convicted in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Axel announced his decision on February 24. In a statement, he said he was stepping down in order to focus on his own research and teaching.
Axel acknowledged that his association with Epstein had been a serious mistake. He apologized to colleagues, students and friends, saying he deeply regretted having undermined their trust. He also noted that now that the financier’s horrific crimes and the harm caused to many people have become widely known, his past ties to Epstein appear even more inexcusable.
In addition, Axel, who has worked at the university for more than 50 years, is leaving his position as an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Columbia University clarified that Axel himself considered it appropriate to relinquish his leadership role in light of past events and the ongoing consequences of the publication of documents related to the Epstein case. The institution stated that the scientist had not violated any internal rules or criminal laws. University officials thanked the biologist for his contributions and many years of leadership and agreed with his decision to resign.
Axel received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2004 together with Linda Buck for their 1991 research. At that time, the scientists identified about one thousand genes that enable humans to distinguish more than ten thousand different smells.
Epstein was charged in 2019 with sex trafficking of minors. In August of the same year, he was found dead in a federal jail cell in New York. His death was ruled a suicide.
At the end of January, the US Department of Justice released more than 3.5 million pages of documents, thousands of videos and images related to the financier’s case. Mentions in these files damaged the reputations of many influential figures around the world and led to several resignations.
