| 1 | Name: | Dr. Roger D. Kornberg | |
| Institution: | Stanford University | ||
| Year Elected: | 2008 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 206. Physiology, Biophysics, and Pharmacology | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1947 | ||
Roger Kornberg is Winzer Professor in Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. He earned his Ph.D. from Stanford in 1972 and has been a faculty member there since 1978. His work has been recognized with the Gairdner International Award (2000); the Merck Award (2002); the Sloan Prize in Cancer Research (2005); and the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Roger Kornberg's first paradigm-changing discovery was the demonstration of the flip flop of lipids between two leaflets of a membrane. In 1974 he tackled and solved the age-old mystery of chromatin structure by discovering the nucleosome. That landmark advance stemmed from his insightful application of protein chemistry and a bold leap of reasoning. In the early 1980s, Kornberg combined lateral diffusion and protein chemistry in his invention of two dimensional protein crystallization. This ingenious approach led, ultimately, to the greatest triumph of his career to date, the atomic structure determination of the giant RNA polymerase complex in the act of gene transcription, a monumental achievement that was recognized by the (unshared) Nobel Prize in Chemistry. His discovery of transcriptional mediator is yet another landmark in a career most uncommonly rich in major discoveries. Roger Kornberg is a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1998) and the National Academy of Sciences (2003). He was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2008. | |||