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Thomas A. Steitz

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Thomas Steitz
Steitz in 2009
Born
Thomas Arthur Steitz

(1940-08-23)August 23, 1940
Milwaukee,Wisconsin,U.S.
DiedOctober 9, 2018(2018-10-09)(aged 78)
Branford, Connecticut,U.S.
Alma materWauwatosa High School,Lawrence University,Harvard University
Known forBio-crystallography
SpouseJoan A. Steitz
Children1
Awards
Scientific career
Fields
InstitutionsHoward Hughes Medical Institute,Yale University,University of California, Berkeley
ThesisThe 6⁰A crystal structure of carboxypeptidase A(1967)
Doctoral advisorWilliam N. Lipscomb, Jr.
Other academic advisorsDavid M. Blow
Notable studentsNenad Ban
Websitesteitzlab.yale.edu

Thomas Arthur Steitz(August 23, 1940 – October 9, 2018[2]) was an Americanbiochemist,aSterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and BiochemistryatYale University,and investigator at theHoward Hughes Medical Institute,best known for his pioneering work on theribosome.

Steitz was awarded the 2009Nobel Prize in Chemistryalong withVenkatraman RamakrishnanandAda Yonath"for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome".[3]Steitz also won the Gairdner International Award in 2007[4]"for his studies on the structure and function of theribosomewhich showed that thepeptidyl transferase(EC 2.3.2.12) was anRNAcatalyzed reaction, and for revealing the mechanism of inhibition of this function byantibiotics".[5]

Education and career[edit]

Born inMilwaukee,Wisconsin,[3]Steitz studied chemistry as an undergraduate atLawrence UniversityinAppleton, Wisconsin,graduating in 1962. In June 2010, the University renamed its chemistry building Thomas A. Steitz Hall of Science.[6]

He received a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology fromHarvard Universityin 1966 where he worked under the direction of subsequent 1976chemistry Nobel PrizewinnerWilliam N. Lipscomb, Jr. While at Harvard, after the training task of determining the structure of the small molecule methyl ethylene phosphate,[7]Steitz made contributions to determining the atomic structures ofcarboxypeptidase A(EC 3.4.17.1)[8]andaspartate carbamoyltransferase(EC 2.1.3.2),[9]each the largest atomic structure determined in its time.

Steitz did postdoctoral research as a Jane Coffin Childs Postdoctoral Fellow at the MRCLaboratory of Molecular Biologyduring 1967–1970.

Steitz briefly held an assistant professorship at theUniversity of California, Berkeley,but he resigned on the grounds that the institution would not accept his wife Joan into a faculty position because she was a woman.[10]

Both Tom and Joan Steitz instead joined the Yale faculty in 1970, where he continued to work on cellular and structural biology. Steitz andPeter Mooredetermined the atomic structure of the large50Sribosomal subunit usingX-ray crystallography,and published their findings inSciencein 2000.[11]In 2009, Steitz was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his ribosome research.

He was also a Macy Fellow at theUniversity of Göttingenduring 1976–1977 and a Fairchild Scholar at theCalifornia Institute of Technologyduring 1984–1985.[4]

Steitz was also one of the founders of a company, Rib-X Pharmaceuticals, nowMelinta Therapeuticsfor the development of new antibiotics based on the ribosome.

Honors[edit]

Private life[edit]

He enjoyedskiing,hiking,andgardening.[13]

It should also be noted that Tom valued a good time. He always looked forward to department happy hours, wine tastings and any other excuse for a party. He hosted many wonderful Halloween parties at his home, always appropriately attire in costume.[14]

Steitz was married toJoan A. Steitz,a distinguished molecular biologist who is also a Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale. He lived with her inBranford, Connecticutand had one son, Jon, and two grandchildren, Adam and Maddy.[15]He died on October 9, 2018, of complications during treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Publications[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Foreign Members".Royal Society.Retrieved2012-03-20.
  2. ^Kolata, Gina (10 October 2018)."Thomas A. Steitz, 78, Dies; Illuminated a Building Block of Life".The New York Times.
  3. ^ab2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry,Nobel Foundation.
  4. ^abThomas Steitz,Thomas Steitz Lab.
  5. ^Thomas A. Steitz,The Gairdner 50 Foundation.
  6. ^"Lawrence To Honor Nobel Prize Winner with Building Renaming Ceremony on Friday".Lawrence University. 9 June 2010.Retrieved12 January2013.
  7. ^Steitz, T. A. and Lipscomb, W. N., "Molecular Structure of Methyl Ethylene Phosphate,"J Am. Chem. Soc. 87,2488 (1965).
  8. ^Ludwig ML, Hartsuck JA, Steitz TA, Muirhead H, Coppola JC, Reeke GN, Lipscomb WN. The Structure of Carboxypeptidase A, IV. Prelimitary Results at 2.8 A Resolution, and a Substrate Complex at 6 A Resolution.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.1967 March;57(3): 511–514.
  9. ^Steitz TA, Wiley DC, Lipscomb WN. The structure of aspartate transcarbamylase, I. A molecular twofold axis in the complex with cytidine triphosphate.Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.1967 November;58(5): 1859–1861.
  10. ^Ferry, Georgina (2018-10-30)."Thomas A. Steitz (1940–2018)".Nature.563(7729): 36.doi:10.1038/d41586-018-07187-2.ISSN0028-0836.
  11. ^"Yale Researches Solve Structure of the Ribosome; Groundbreaking Achievement 'Like Climbing Mount Everest'".YaleNews.10 August 2000.Retrieved17 March2015.
  12. ^Ramakrishnan, V.; Henderson, Richard (2021)."Thomas Arthur Steitz. 23 August 1940—9 October 2018".Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society.72:311–336.doi:10.1098/rsbm.2021.0029.S2CID244731370.
  13. ^"The Best Job Ever. Reflections On My Time with Tom Steitz, 1985–2018by Peggy Eatheron ".Structural Insights Into Gene Expression And Protein Synthesis.Series in Structural Biology—Volume 12. Singapore: World Scientific. 2020. pp. 29–31.ISBN9789811215872.
  14. ^Steitz, Thomas A. (2020)."The Best Job Ever. Reflections On My Time with Tom Steitz, 1985–2018by Peggy Eatheron ".Structural Insights Into Gene Expression And Protein Synthesis.World Scientific. pp. 29–31.ISBN9789811215872.(quote from p. 31)
  15. ^"Episode 28 – Thomas Steitz – A Nobel Profession – MIPtalk".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-04-01.Retrieved2011-04-05.

External links[edit]

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