The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It's mission is "Science for the benefit of humanity".

The Pershing Square Foundation supported The Rockefeller University through "The William Ackman and Neri Oxman Innovation Fund in Neurodegenerative Disease". This fund provided competitively awarded seed funding for projects by Rockefeller University scientists that promise to shed light on the fundamental biology of neurodegenerative diseases and how they may be better treated or prevented.

The Pershing Square Foundation allocated funding towards COVID-19 research undertaken by the institutions associated with its talented PSSCRA community. We sought our scientific advisors’ knowledge and expertise to solicit proposals from researchers at their respective institutions whose work they deemed exceptional and could not only make an impact on the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but also other diseases. Our hope is that the synergy amongst cancer research, immunotherapy, genetics, and epigenetics might shed new light on COVID research, expand our basic scientific knowledge, and strengthen our arsenal for current and future health crises. This funding to The Rockefeller University went to Dr. Ali Brivanlou to support his project “Capitalizing on stem cell-derived synthetic human lungs on microchips to block SARS-CoV-2,” and Drs. Daniel Mucida and Sohail Tavazoie to support their project, “Mucosal immunogenetics and an oral therapy for COVID-19.” In 2022, The Pershing Square Foundation granted multi-year support of Dr. Hermann Steller’s research project entitled, “Stimulating Synaptic Protein Degradation for the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases."