Thomas A. Steitz
Who was Thomas A. Steitz?
Nobel laureate: Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2009)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Thomas A. Steitz (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Thomas Arthur Steitz (August 23, 1940 – October 9, 2018) was an American biochemist and a Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University. He made significant advancements in understanding protein synthesis through his groundbreaking studies of the ribosome. Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Steitz studied at Lawrence University and later earned his doctorate at Harvard University, laying the groundwork for a career that changed molecular biology.
Steitz's most important contribution was his detailed work on the structure and function of ribosomes, research that won him the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Ada Yonath. His work showed that the ribosome's peptidyl transferase center acts as a ribozyme, proving that RNA, not protein, catalyzes the main reaction of protein synthesis. This finding challenged traditional views on enzymatic catalysis and provided important insights into the RNA World hypothesis, which proposes that RNA came before DNA and proteins in early evolution.
During his career at Yale University and as an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Steitz used X-ray crystallography to reveal the 3D structures of ribosomes and their interactions with messenger RNA, transfer RNA, and various antibiotics. His research explained how antibiotics stop bacterial protein synthesis, helping to understand drug action and resistance. These studies had direct medical and drug development applications.
Steitz received many honors beyond the Nobel Prize, including the Canada Gairdner International Award in 2007, the Keio Medical Science Prize in 2006, and the Rosenstiel Award in 2000. He was elected as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 2011 and received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Buenos Aires, showing international recognition of his work. His marriage to fellow scientist Joan A. Steitz, also a prominent molecular biologist, was a partnership that enhanced both their scientific efforts and the research community at Yale.
Before Fame
Growing up in Milwaukee in the 1940s and 1950s, Steitz experienced a time when molecular biology was emerging as its own scientific field. He went to Wauwatosa East High School and then Lawrence University, where he got interested in how chemicals are linked to biological processes. After World War II, there was a big boost in funding for scientific research, especially for understanding life at the molecular level.
Steitz did his graduate studies at Harvard University in the 1960s, a transformative time for molecular biology with breakthroughs like cracking the genetic code and discovering messenger RNA. This atmosphere of rapid discovery in nucleic acid biochemistry allowed him to explore how genetic information turns into proteins, leading to his lifelong focus on ribosomal structure and function.
Key Achievements
- Awarded 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for studies of ribosomal structure and function
- Proved that the ribosome's peptidyl transferase center is an RNA-catalyzed reaction
- Determined high-resolution crystal structures of ribosomal subunits and their complexes
- Revealed molecular mechanisms of antibiotic action on bacterial protein synthesis
- Appointed Sterling Professor at Yale University and investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Did You Know?
- 01.Steitz shared his Nobel Prize with Ada Yonath, who became only the fourth woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- 02.His wife Joan A. Steitz is also a prominent molecular biologist who made fundamental discoveries about RNA processing and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences
- 03.Steitz's ribosome research required growing crystals of these massive molecular complexes, some containing over 100,000 atoms
- 04.He demonstrated that the ribosome is essentially a ribozyme, meaning that RNA, not protein, catalyzes the formation of peptide bonds
- 05.Steitz's work helped explain why certain antibiotics like chloramphenicol specifically target bacterial ribosomes without affecting human ones
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Nobel Prize in Chemistry | 2009 | for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome |
| Keio Medical Science Prize | 2006 | — |
| Canada Gairdner International Award | 2007 | — |
| Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry | 1980 | — |
| Rosenstiel Award | 2000 | — |
| Sir Hans Krebs Medal | 2000 | — |
| Sterling Professor | — | — |
| Honorary Doctorate of University of Buenos Aires | — | — |
| Foreign Member of the Royal Society | 2011 | — |
| Newcomb Cleveland Prize | — | — |
| honorary doctor of the University of Bordeaux | 2014 | — |
| Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science | 2007 | — |