Thomas A Steitz PhD

Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry and Professor of Chemistry; Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Biographical Info

Prof. Thomas Steitz received a B.A. degree in chemistry from Lawrence College in Appleton, Wisconsin, and a Ph.D. degree in molecular biology and biochemistry from Harvard, with William Lipscomb. After a postdoctoral year at Harvard, he moved to the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, to work as a Jane Coffin Childs fellow with David Blow. He next joined the Yale faculty, where he has remained, except for sabbatical work with Klaus Weber in Göttingen, Germany; Aaron Klug at Cambridge; John Abelson at the California Institute of Technology; and Thomas Cech and Olke Uhlenbeck at the University of Colorado. He has received the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, the Pfizer Prize from the American Chemical Society, the Lewis S. Rosenstiel Award for distinguished work in basic medical sciences, the 2001 Newcomb Cleveland Prize from the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Lawrence University Lucia R. Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award, the 2006 Keio Medical Science Prize, and the 2007 Gairdner International Award. Dr. Steitz is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was recently elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Education & Training

BA

Lawrence College (1962)

Ph.D.

Harvard University (1966)

Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellow

Cambridge, England, Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology (1967 - 1970)

Postdoctoral Fellow

Harvard University, Chemistry (1966 - 1967)

Honors & Recognition

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry
  The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (2009)
• Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry
  Yale University (2001)
• George E. Palade Award
  (2008)
• Frank H. Westheimer Medal
  Harvard University (2004)
• Gairdner International Award
  The Gairdner Foundation (2007)
• Keio Medical Science Prize
  Keio University, Tokyo, Japan (2006)
• Lucia R. Briggs Distinguished Achievement Award
  Lawrence University (2002)
• AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize
  American Association for the Advancement of Science (2001)
• Rosenstiel Award for Distinguished Work in Basic Medical Sciences
  Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center at Brandeis University (2001)
• Honorary D.Sc.
  Lawrence University (1981)
• Pfizer Award in Enzyme Chemistry
  American Chemical Society (ACS) (1980)

Professional Service

• Member, National Academy of Sciences (1990)
• Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (1990)
• Investigator, The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1986)
• Fairchild Scholar, Caltech (1984 - 1985)
• Macy Fellow, Göttengen, Germany (1976 - 1977)
• Fellow, American Academy of Microbiology