Ada Yonath's Milestones
Birth
Ada Yonath was born in Jerusalem, in what was then the British Mandate of Palestine, to Hillel and Esther Yonath.
Early childhood
Grew up in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, facing economic hardship after her father's early death.
Father died
Her father died when she was 11, and the family faced economic hardship.
Attended Hebrew University
Studied chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, earning her bachelor's degree.
Master's degree
Completed a master's degree in biochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
PhD at Weizmann Institute
Earned her PhD in X-ray crystallography at the Weizmann Institute of Science, studying under Wolf Prize laureate Prof. M. F. Perutz.
Postdoctoral research
Conducted postdoctoral research at Carnegie Mellon University and MIT in the United States, focusing on protein crystallography.
Established protein crystallography lab
Founded the first protein crystallography laboratory in Israel at the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Sabbaticals abroad
Took sabbaticals at Max Planck Institutes in Germany and the University of Chicago, expanding her research network.
Pioneered ribosome crystallization
Pioneered techniques for crystallizing ribosomes, overcoming skepticism and technical barriers.
First ribosome crystals
Produced the first ribosome crystals, enabling structural studies of these complex molecular machines.
International collaborations
Collaborated with scientists worldwide to advance ribosome research and structural biology.
First ribosome structure
Determined the first high-resolution structure of a large ribosomal subunit, revolutionizing molecular biology.
Wolf Prize in Chemistry
Received the Wolf Prize in Chemistry for her work on ribosome structure and function.
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (shared with Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz) for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome.
Leadership and legacy
Continued to lead research at the Weizmann Institute, inspiring generations of scientists and advancing structural biology.
Honors and memberships
Elected to the US National Academy of Sciences, the Israel Academy of Sciences, and received numerous honorary doctorates.