Bertha Bouroncle discovered hairy cell leukemia in 1958 and developed a treatment for it, deoxycoformycin, nearly 30 years later along with Michael Grever and Erik Kraut.

[citation needed] Zollinger-Ellison syndrome was defined by two OSU faculty, Robert Zollinger and Edwin Ellison, in the 1940s.

[4] Educational firsts by the Ohio State College of Medicine include an independent study curriculum in 1970, and a human cancer genetics fellowship.

[8] In 2000, Ohio State graduates Peter Kourlas and Matthew Strout conducted genetic research that led to the discovery of a gene that plays a role in acute myeloid leukemia.

[9] In 2009, scientists at the university were the first to observe the real time behavior of the enzyme Dpo4, which aid studies understanding the molecular basis for cancer and other diseases.

[11] In 2013, surgeon Christopher Kaeding performed the first surgery in the United States while streaming video live using Google Glass.

[12] The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center has had several firsts and breakthroughs in robotic surgery.

In 1999, Randall Wolf and Robert Michler became the first in the country to perform a robotically assisted heart bypass.

While under the direction of Michler in 2009, the center became the first in North America to use the da Vinci HS SI robot during a surgery.

Carlo M. Croce, chair of the department of cancer biology and genetics, had 8 papers retracted and 15 more had corrections issued.

[16] Ching-Shih Chen, professor in medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy, is under investigation for at least 21 incidents of scientific misconduct.