Dr. Ada E. Yonath
Ada Yonath pioneered and is studying the structural basis of a universal and
fundamental process: translating the genetic code into proteins. She is focusing on
ribosomes, the cellular “factories” performing this task. Based on the universality of
the ribosomes, she is exploring the origins of life as well as the ribosome’s clinical
significance. Due to their fundamental function, ribosomes are targeted by many
antibiotics. Thus, by investigating their action alongside the mechanisms acquiring
antibiotics resistance, she is revealing novel routes for structure-based drug
improvements and design.
Born in Jerusalem, Ada Yonath studied at the Hebrew University, earned her
Ph.D. degree from the Weizmann Institute of Science (WIS) and completed postdoctoral studies at Carnegie Mellon University and MIT in USA. Early in her career,
Dr. Yonath established the first laboratory for protein crystallography in Israel, the
only laboratory of this kind in that country for almost a decade. She then spent a
sabbatical leave at Chicago University and served as a lecturer at several universities,
including Valdivia in Chile. Currently Dr. Yonath is the Kimmel Professor of
structural biology and the Director of the Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular
Structure and Assembly at the WIS. In parallel with her work at WIS, during 19862004 time frame, Dr. Yonath directed the Max-Planck-Research-Unit for Ribosome
Structure in Hamburg, Germany.
Dr. Yonath is a member of the US National Academy of Sciences; the American
Academy of Arts & Sciences; the Israel Academy of Sciences & Humanities; the
European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO); the European Academy of
Sciences & Art; the German Academy of Sciences (Leopoldina); the Korean
Academy for Science & Technology; the Royal Chemical Society-UK, the
International Academy of Microbiology and the International Academy of
Astronautics.
She holds honorary doctorates from almost all Israeli Universities; from KEK,
Japan; Oslo University, Norway; Fujian University, China; NYU and Mount Sinai
Universities, NYC; Hamburg University; Patras University, Greece; Oxford and
Cambridge Universities, UK; and the Baptist University, Hong Kong.
Dr. Yonath’s awards include the 1st European Crystallography Prize; the Israel
Prize; the Paul Karrer Gold Medal; the Israel EMET Award; the Rothschild Prize; the
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize of Columbia U, NY; the Paul Ehrlich-Ludwig Medal; the
Linus Pauling Gold Medal; the Anfinsen Prize; the Wolf Prize; the Massry Award; the
UNESCO/L’Oreal Award for Women in Science; the Albert Einstein World Award
for Excellence; the Erice Peace Prize; the DESY Pin; the Exner Medal; the Indian PM
Gold Medal; the President of Panama Award; the Maria Sklodowska-Curie Medal of
the Polish Chemical Society; the Cite of Florence Prize; the Datta Medal; and the
2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry.
1