Curriculum Vitae Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Ph.D. Name: Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Born: 1952 Major Scientific Interests: Ribosomes, protein biosynthesis, proteins, translation, crystal structure, antibiotics Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is a structural biologist. In 2009, he received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Thomas A. Seitz and Ada Yonath. The three scientists decoded the ribosome, the cell’s protein factory. They described the three‐dimensional structure of ribosomes and the mechanism of protein production. Academic and Professional Career since 2015 President of the Royal Society, UK 2006 ‐ 2008 Fellow, Trinity College, Cambridge, UK since 1999 Group Leader, Laboratory for Molecular Biology, Medical Research Council, Cambridge, UK 1995 ‐ 1999 Professor for Biochemistry, University of Utah, USA 1983 ‐ 1995 Research assistant, Department of Biology, Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA 1982 ‐ 1983 Research assistant, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA 1978 ‐ 1982 Postdoc in Chemistry, Yale University, New Haven, USA 1976 ‐ 1978 Studies in Biology, University of California, San Diego, USA 1976 Ph.D. in Physics, Ohio University, USA 1971 Bachelor degree in Physics, Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda, India Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina www.leopoldina.org 1 Functions in Scientific Societies and Committees since 2008 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna, Austria since 2004 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Rib‐X Pharmaceuticals 2002 ‐ 2006 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany Honours and Awarded Memberships 2012 Knighted, New Year Honours 2010 Padma Vibhushan, second highest civilian award in the Republic of India since 2010 Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina 2009 Rolf‐Sammet‐Professor, University of Frankfurt 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Thomas A. Seitz und Ada Yonath 2008 External Member, Indian National Science Academy 2008 Heatley Medal, British Biochemical Society 2007 Datta Medal, Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) 2007 Prix Louis Jeantet de Médecine since 2004 Member, US National Academy of Sciences 2003 Fellow, Royal Society since 2002 Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) 1991 ‐ 1992 Guggenheim Scholarship Major Scientific Interests Venkatraman Ramakrishnan received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry along with Thomas A. Seitz and Ada Yonath in 2009. The three scientists decoded the ribosome, the cell’s protein factory. They described the three‐dimensional structure of ribosomes and the mechanism of protein production. Ribosomes are molecular complexes that consist of hundreds of thousands of atoms, which are in turn divided into two subunits. During protein biosynthesis, or translation, ribosomes translate genetic information into proteins. Proteins carry out a wide range of tasks within an organism and are responsible for the entire metabolism. With his research, Ramakrishnan has contributed to our understanding of translation. Using X‐ray structure analysis, he investigated the ribosomes of the bacterium Thermus thermophilus and, in the same year as Yonath, decoded the structure of the Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina www.leopoldina.org 2 smaller subunit. Almost at the same time, Seitz published the first description of the larger subunit’s crystal structure. The insights of these three researchers have contributed to our understanding of protein genesis – one of the fundamental processes of life. In another research paper, Ramakrishnan investigated the relationship of the ribosomal subunit to various antibiotic agents. Many antibiotic substances dock at the ribosomes of bacteria, thereby blocking them. However, some substances have ceased to be effective, and the increasing rate of antibiotic resistance presents a challenge for medicine. Ramakrishnan and his colleagues hope that their research can be used to develop a new generation of antibiotic agents. The goal is to find substances that inhibit the protein synthesis of bacterial ribosomes in a more targeted way, that put pathogens out of commission, and that lead to fewer cases of resistance. Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina www.leopoldina.org 3