Yale’s Joan A. Steitz is the recipient of the 2015 Connecticut Medal of Science for her pioneering work in understanding the structure and function of RNA, announced the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE).
The Medal of Science is Connecticut's highest honor for scientific achievement in fields crucial to the state’s economic competitiveness and social well-being. Modeled after the National Medal of Science, this award is bestowed on behalf of the State of Connecticut in alternate years with the Connecticut Medal of Technology.
Steitz, Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale, was the unanimous selection of the academy committee, which reviewed resumes of 16 top Connecticut scientists on behalf of the state.
Steitz has been an international leader in describing the molecular events involved in creation of messenger RNA (mRNA). Messenger RNA transcribes information coded on DNA and delivers it to ribosomes, which translate the information needed to produce proteins. Steitz’s lab discovered tiny particles in cells called small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) and described their role in splicing, an essential step in creating mRNA.
Her insights have been applied to numerous research areas, including cancer and autoimmune and infectious diseases. Steitz is the recipient of more than 60 awards and honors. She is the first woman to receive the state’s medal; her husband, Nobel laureate Thomas Steitz, won the award in 2013.
Steitz continues to explore RNA structure and function. Her research includes defining the functions of other non-coding RNPs, such as those that guide the modification of ribosomal RNAs and several produced by cancer-causing herpesviruses.
The academy noted that in addition to her scientific accomplishments, Steitz is a dedicated teacher of biochemistry to Yale undergraduates, and a mentor and research adviser to graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. She is recognized for her commitment to the training and advancement of women scientists, in particular, and her inspired leadership led to a renaissance at Yale that made the Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry one of nation’s strongest in molecular biology.
A graduate of the Antioch College, Steitz holds a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology from Harvard University. She has authored nearly 300 papers, many of them in the influential journals, such as Science, Nature, Cell, and PHAS. She is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Philosophical Society, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine.
Steitz will be honored at the CASE Annual Meeting and Dinner, to be held on May 19 6–9:30 p.m. at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cromwell. Cost is $65 per person. To register individuals should contact CASE either by phone or email. Registration deadline is May 1. Contact Rick Strauss at rstrauss@ctcase.org, 860-571-7135; or Terri Clark at tclark@ctcase.org; 860-571-7143.