Nobel Prize-winning scientist Thomas Steitz, Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry, will receive the 2013 Connecticut (CT) Medal of Science, the state’s top prize for technological achievement crucial to economic development.
Best known for his research into ribosomal proteins, the building blocks of all life, Steitz is also renowned for his work with dozens of student mentees who became scientific leaders, themselves.
Steitz co-founded New Haven-based Rib-X Pharmaceuticals in 2001 to develop new classes of antibiotics. Today, the company has 45 full-time employees.
In addition to the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Steitz has received a Gairdner International Award, a Keio Medical Science Prize, the AAAS Newcomb Cleveland Prize, and many other honors.
