Prof. Ada Yonath, Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry, dies at 87
Prof. Ada Yonath, the 2009 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry and Israel Prize laureate, has passed away at the age of 87. A pioneer in ribosome research, her work was instrumental in the development of new antibiotics.
Prof. Ada Yonath, the 2009 Nobel Prize laureate in Chemistry and Israel Prize laureate, passed away on Monday at the age of 87. This was announced by the Weizmann Institute of Science.
Yonath, from the Department of Structural Biology and Chemistry at the Weizmann Institute, was a pioneer in the study of the ribosome, the cell's protein factory. Her scientific journey, which spanned decades, began with basic research aimed at deciphering the operation of one of the most complex biological machines in nature. The research later led to an understanding of how various antibiotics work and paved the way for the development of new antibiotic drugs and the fight against antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Yonath was born in the Geula neighborhood of Jerusalem in 1939 to a traditional, low-income family. From a young age, she sought to investigate and understand how the world around her worked. After losing her father at a young age, she began working before turning 12, yet through her mother's immense efforts, she was able to complete her education. She later shared her love for science with her daughter, Dr. Hagit Yonath, currently a director at Sheba Medical Center (Tel HaShomer).
After studying chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Prof. Yonath completed her doctorate in X-ray crystallography at the Weizmann Institute of Science in 1968 under the guidance of Prof. Wolfie Traub. She then continued her postdoctoral studies at Carnegie Mellon University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1970, she established the first laboratory for protein crystallography in Israel at the Weizmann Institute.
Over the years, Yonath held a series of senior positions at the Weizmann Institute, including Head of the Department of Structural Chemistry, Head of the Department of Structural Biology, and Director of the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly. From 1986 to 2004, she also headed a research group at the Max Planck Society in Hamburg, Germany.
Yonath was a member of a long list of leading global scientific academies, including the US National Academy of Sciences and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Alongside the Nobel Prize, Yonath won dozens of awards, including the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the EMET Prize, and the L'Oréal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science. She was also awarded honorary doctorates from about forty universities around the world.
The President of the Weizmann Institute of Science, Prof. Alon Chen, said:
«Ada was an extraordinary scientist who was not afraid to choose a path that others thought was impossible and to walk it with determination, curiosity, and courage for decades. Her breakthrough in ribosome research changed our understanding of one of the most fundamental processes of life and opened new possibilities for fighting antibiotic resistance. But Ada's legacy is even greater than her scientific achievements. She showed generations of scientists what can be achieved when one dares to ask big questions and does not give up on the persistent search for answers. Ada was an 'Institute Professor' — the highest rank the institute grants to a select list of great scientists, and she continued to research and publish, maintain an active laboratory, and conduct scientific collaborations right up to her final days.»
