Joan Elaine Argetsinger Steitz
Personal Information
Born: 1941
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Antioch College BS Chemistry 1963; Harvard University PhD Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Professional Life
Field of Study: Molecular Biophysics; Biochemistry
Institution/Corporation: Howard Hughes Medical Institute; Laboratory of Molecular Biology at University of Cambridge; Yale University
Degrees & Memberships: Honorary Degree: holds 19 including Columbia University (2011) University of British Columbia (2008); Member: Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London (2014) American Philosophical society (1992) National Academy of Sciences (1983) American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1982) Institute of Medicine Investigator Howard Hughes Medical Institute (1986) ASCB Inaugural Fellow (2016)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 1982 NAS Award in Molecular Biology; 1986 National Medal of Science NSF; 2000 Max Delbrnck Medal; 2006 Gairdner Foundation International Award; 2012 Pearl Meister Greengard Prize; 2021 Wolf Prize in Medicine; 2018 Lasker-Koshland Award for Special Achievement in Medical Science; 2020 Microbiology Society Prize Medal; 2009 Jubilee Lecture Award Biochemical Society; 2008 Albany Medical Center Prize (with Elizabeth Blackburn); 2006 Rosalind E. Franklin Award for Women in Science National Cancer Institute; 2005. E.B. Wilson Medal American Society for Cell Biology; 2004 RNA Society Lifetime Achievement Award; 2004 The Caledonian Research Foundation Prize Lectureship in Biomedical Sciences & Arts & Letters Royal Society of Edinburgh; 2003 FASEB Excellence in Science Award; 2002 Lewis S. Rosentiel Award for Distinguished Basic Medical Science; 2001 L'Oreal-UNESCO Award for Women in Science; 1992 Golden Plate Award American Academy of Achievement; 1989 Warren Triennal Prize; 1988 Dickson Prize for Science; 1983 Lee Howley Sr. Award for Arthritis Research; 1976 Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry; 1975 Passano Foundation Young Scientist Award; 2015 Connecticut Medal of Science; 2008 Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame; 1982 US Steel Foundation Award in Molecular Biology; 1999 Novartis-Drew Award in Biomedical Research; 2012 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science; 2013 Grand Medaille
Achievements: Pioneer in the study of RNA; her research may yield new insights into the diagnosis & treatment of autoimmune diseases
1980 with Michael Lerner, discovered & defined the function of small ribonucleoproteins (snRNPs) in pre- messenger RNA
Attended an all-girls high school in Minnesota
1st female graduate student to join the lab of Nobel Laureate James Watson & worked with him on bacteriophage RNA
1975, demonstrated that ribosomes use complementary base pairing to identify the start site on mRNA
Her work helps explain the phenomenon of "alternative RNA splicing"
Discovered that introns (which were thought to be inert) code for snoRNAs that target the modification of other cellular RNAs during their maturation
Her research on snRNPs (pronounced "snurps") may have a significant impact on the diagnosis & treatment of lupus
Holds 1 patent