[2] Born in Nyírcsászári, Hungary, Ernest Borek moved with his family to New York City at the age of 14.

[3] [4] On March 22, 1964, The New York Times ran a page one article on a new unified theory of cancer development proposed by Borek and his Columbia University associate Dr. P. R. Srinivasan.

The Atoms Within Us has been translated into all major languages and received the Thomas Alva Edison Foundation Award for the best science book for the public in 1961.

[6] Noting skepticism that greeted some of his ultimately successful scientific discoveries in cancer research, Borek wrote in an essay for the M.D.

He also received the Townsend Harris Medal for distinguished alumni of the City University of New York in 1968, and was awarded an honorary M.D.

[2] The City College of New York offers the annual Ernest Borek Scholarship, funded by his sister Irene Marsh, to undergraduate and graduate students "who show promise in chemistry or biochemistry".