Accolades: Researchers, Networks, and Prizewinning Science at Yale School of Medicine

Thomas Steitz, PhD (1940-2018)

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

Biochemist Thomas Steitz led a team of scientists who mapped the structure of cell ribosomes, which had important implications for understanding protein synthesis and for the creation of novel antibiotics. This research earned Steitz the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Like his wife Joan Steitz, Thomas Steitz had also been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator since 1986, and his colleagues remember his immense talent for identifying and solving “daunting” problems with both scientific precision and artistry. Early in his career, Steitz was shaped by innovative and inspiring teachers and peers, and in his Nobel Prize biography, Steitz generously recognized dozens of his influences and collaborators, demonstrating the important role that intellectual exchange plays in scientific discovery.