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Sidney Altman



Sidney Altman

Sidney Altman was born in Montreal in 1939. Sidney obtained a B.Sc. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1960 and his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado in 1967. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University from 1967-1969 and a visiting Research Fellow at the MRC Laboratory in Cambridge, England from 1969-1971. He joined Yale University in 1971 where he continues as a Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology. In 1989, Sidney Altman and Dr. Thomas Cech were awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their role in “the discovery of catalytic properties of RNA”. Sidney Altman's career has primarily been concerned with nucleic acid biochemistry and with the genetics of tRNA expression.

Education:

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass. B.S. 1960 Physics
  • Univ. of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado Ph.D. 1967 Biophysics
  • Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. 1967-69 Mol. Biology
  • MRC Laboratory, Cambridge, England 1969-71 Mol. Biology

Professional Positions:

Most of my graduate and subsequent career has been concerned with nucleic acid biochemistry and with the genetics of tRNA expression.

  • Present employment: Sterling Professor of Biology, Yale University, 1990-
  • Professor of Chemistry, Yale University, 1995-
  • Previous Career: Dean of Yale College, 1985-89, Chairman, Department of Biology, Yale University, 1983-1985
  • Professor of Biology, Yale University, 1980-90
  • Associate Professor of Biology, Yale University, 1975-80
  • Assistant Professor of Biology, Yale University, 1971-1975
  • Scientific Staff: MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, England, 1970-1971
  • Visiting Research Fellow in laboratory of S. Brenner and F. Crick, MRC Laboratory, 1969-1970: supported by Anna Fuller Fund for Cancer Research
  • Research Fellow in laboratory of M. Meselson, Biological Laboratories, Harvard University, 1967-1969; supported by Damon Runyon Fund for Cancer Research
  • Research Assistant in laboratory of L.S. Lerman, Department of Biophysics, University of Colorado, 1962-1967, Ph.D. 1967: University Fellow 1964-1967
  • Graduate Student and Teaching Assistant, Department of Physics, Columbia University, 1960-1962
  • Undergraduate Student, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1956-1960, B.S. 1960 (Physics).

Honours:

  • Dean's List - MIT, 3 semesters
  • University Fellow, U. of Colorado 1964-67
  • Damon Runyon Fund Fellow 1967-69
  • Anna Fuller Fund Fellow 1969-70
  • Fellow - American Association for the Advancement of Science 1987
  • Member - American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1988
  • Rosenstiel Award for Basic Biomedical Research 1989
  • Member - Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences 1989
  • Fairchild Fellow, California Institute of Technology 1989-90
  • National Institutes of Health Merit Award 1989
  • Nobel Prize in Chemistry 1989
  • Sterling Professor of Biology, Yale University 1990
  • Yale Science and Engineering Association Award 1990
  • Member - American Philosophical Society 1990
  • Member - National Academy of Sciences (USA) 1990
  • Distinguished Service Medal, Teachers College, Columbia University 1990
  • William Clyde DeVane Professor - Yale College 1991
  • Fellow, Whitney Humanities Center, Yale University 1991-1994
  • Innovators of Science Award, Medical College of Virginia 1992
  • Montgomery Fellow, Dartmouth College 1992
  • Feodor Lynen Award, University of Miami/Miami Winter Symposia 1995
  • Julius K. Schultz Visiting Professor, University of Miami Medical School 1998
  • Visiting Professor, Guy's Medical School, King's College, University of London (UK) 1999-2001
  • Novartis-Drew Award in Biomedical Research 1999
  • Burroughs-Wellcome Visiting Professor, Ohio State University 2000

Honorary Degrees:

  • (Doctor of Science, Honoris Causa) Universite de Montreal 1990
  • York University (Toronto) 1990
  • Connecticut College 1990
  • McGill University, 1991
  • University of Colorado, 1991
  • University of British Columbia, 1991
  • Dartmouth College, 1996
  • Lake Forest College, 2001
  • (Doctor of Law, Honoris Causa) Concordia University (Montreal), 2003

Other Positions:

  • Board of Governors, Weizmann Institute of Science 1990-1995.
  • Director, Yale-Weizmann A.B. Giamatti Exchange Program 1984-2001
  • Scientific Advisory Board, Innovir Laboratories, New York, 1989-1999
  • Scientific Advisory Board, Bio-Mega, Inc., Montreal 1990-94.
  • Scientific Advisory Board, Neuromedica, Inc., Cambridge, MA. 1992-1994
  • Special Consultant, Pathogenesis Corporation, Seattle 1992-2001
  • Scientific Advisory Board, Exponential Biotherapies, Inc. 1999-2001
  • Board of Directors, Damon Runyon-Walter Winchell Fund for Cancer Research 1989-1996
  • UNESCO International Committee on Bioethics 1993-1996
  • Town of Hamden, Task Force on Quality Education 1991-93
  • Board of Directors, Yale Hillel Association 1989- ; President 1995-1997
  • Associate Editor (1983-1987); Cell
  • Board of Editors (1977-1990); Consulting Editor (1972-77); American Scientist.
  • Editorial Board (1995- ); RNA.
  • Editorial Board (1997- ); Antisense and Nucleic Acid Drug Development
  • Editorial Board (1998- ); IUBMB LIFE
  • Scientific Advisory Board, NASA Astrobiology Institute 1999-2002
  • Board of Trustees, Dibner Institute for the History of Science and Technology 2000-
  • National Academy of Sciences-Committee on Human Rights 2001-