Joan A. Steitz

Profession: Biologist

Nationality:

Biography: Joan Steitz is an American biochemist and molecular biologist who has made important discoveries about RNA and how it works in cells. Her research has informed our understanding of genes and the roles these play in disease.

Steitz grew up in the 1950s and 60s. While she went to college and first thought about being a doctor, she decided to do scientific research instead. She was the first woman to work in the lab of James Watson, the co-discoverer of DNA, at Harvard.

Later Steitz worked in England with Francis Crick, Watson’s co-discoverer, among other famous scientists. In 1970, she started teaching at Yale University.

Her research showed how RNA helps make proteins in cells, but she also found special RNA molecules that cut out parts of other RNA molecules through a process called splicing.

Steitz's work has been particularly important for understanding diseases like lupus and she has won many awards for her research, including the Lasker Award and the National Medal of Science. She has also been a noted supporter of women in science.

She still still works at Yale University and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and was married to Thomas A. Steitz, who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2009, until his death in 2018. They have a son together named Jon.

Born: January 26, 1941
Birthplace: Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Age: 83 years old

Generation: Silent Generation
Chinese Zodiac: Dragon
Star Sign: Aquarius