Sidney Altman
Who was Sidney Altman?
Canadian-American molecular biologist who shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering the catalytic properties of RNA.
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Sidney Altman (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Sidney Altman was born on May 7, 1939, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to immigrant parents from Eastern Europe. He studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he became interested in molecular biology during the 1960s. After earning his bachelor's degree, Altman went to the University of Colorado Boulder and got his Ph.D. in biophysics in 1967, focusing on protein synthesis and RNA processing.
After his Ph.D., Altman did postdoctoral research at Harvard University and the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. In 1971, he joined the faculty at Yale University and spent most of his career there. He became the Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Chemistry. At Yale, Altman began his work on transfer RNA processing in bacteria, which led to his most important scientific achievement.
Altman's Nobel Prize-winning research was on ribonuclease P, an enzyme responsible for processing precursor transfer RNA molecules. He discovered that it contained an RNA component with catalytic activity, challenging the belief that only proteins could be enzymes. Using bacterial systems, Altman showed that the RNA part of ribonuclease P could cut precursor tRNA molecules without the protein part, proving RNA could catalyze chemical reactions. This discovery, made alongside Thomas Cech's work on self-splicing RNA, changed the understanding of RNA's roles in biology.
Throughout his career, Altman was honored many times for his work in molecular biology. He shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Cech and also received the Rosenstiel Award in 1988 and the Lomonosov Gold Medal in 2016. He was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and received an honorary doctorate from McGill University. Altman continued researching and teaching at Yale until he retired, exploring RNA processing and its evolutionary implications. He passed away on April 5, 2022, in Rockleigh, New Jersey, and is survived by his wife Ann M. Altman and their family.
Before Fame
Altman's journey to scientific fame began during his undergraduate years at MIT in the early 1960s, when molecular biology was really taking off following Watson and Crick's discovery of DNA's structure in 1953. The field was growing rapidly as researchers started to grasp the molecular workings of genetic information transfer. Initially unsure about his career path, Altman was drawn in by the buzz around cracking the genetic code and discovering messenger RNA.
His graduate studies at the University of Colorado Boulder put him at the cutting edge of research into protein synthesis and RNA processing. These areas were gaining importance as scientists began to realize RNA's various roles in cells. The late 1960s and early 1970s were a time of fast-paced discovery in molecular biology, with researchers uncovering how genetic information is transcribed, processed, and turned into proteins.
Key Achievements
- Discovered the catalytic properties of RNA in ribonuclease P enzyme
- Shared the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas R. Cech
- Appointed Sterling Professor at Yale University
- Received the Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Sciences (1988)
- Awarded the Lomonosov Gold Medal by the Russian Academy of Sciences (2016)
Did You Know?
- 01.Altman initially considered becoming a physicist before switching to molecular biology during his undergraduate studies at MIT
- 02.His Nobel Prize-winning research on ribonuclease P began as a side project while he was investigating other aspects of RNA processing in bacteria
- 03.The discovery of catalytic RNA helped support theories about an ancient 'RNA World' where RNA served both genetic and catalytic functions before DNA and proteins evolved
- 04.Altman served on the editorial boards of several prestigious scientific journals and was known for his rigorous peer review standards
- 05.He maintained dual Canadian-American citizenship throughout his career and often spoke about the international nature of scientific collaboration
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Nobel Prize in Chemistry | 1989 | for their discovery of catalytic properties of RNA |
| Rosenstiel Award | 1988 | — |
| Lomonosov Gold Medal | 2016 | — |
| Sterling Professor | — | — |
| Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences | — | — |
| honorary doctorate from the McGill University | — | — |
Nobel Prizes
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