Ada Yonath
The scientist I chose for our discussion is Dr. Ada E. Yonath, a 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner for successfully mapping out the bacterial ribosome in three dimensions. Dr. Yonath’s parents emigrated from Poland, and they had very little money. Despite Ada’s very difficult upbringing, her curiosity and love for science drove her to earning a PhD. She received her bachelor's degree in chemistry, her master's in biochemistry, and her Ph.D. at Weizmann Institute of Science. She also completed a postdoc at Carnegie Mellon University and MIT. Dr. Yonath's research dealt with protein synthesis in cells. No one had yet determined the molecular structure of a ribosome, as X-ray crystallography did not have the capacity to visualize the ribosome due to its size and symmetry. Dr. Yonath successfully crystallized a thermophile bacteria called Geobacillus stearothermophilus, and she published groundbreaking research on how numerous antibiotics function, bringing to light potential antibiotic compounds based on their attachment to the ribosome. As an Israeli woman (and the first Israeli woman to receive a Nobel), Dr. Yonath continues to be a role model for countless underrepresented women pursuing science.
-Ryley
