Venki Ramakrishnan

Venki Ramakrishnan was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his groundbreaking studies of the structure and function of the ribosome, a pivotal area in molecular biology. He commenced his scientific journey earning a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1971 on a National Science Talent Scholarship, before moving to the United States to receive his Doctor of Philosophy in physics from Ohio University in 1976. Transitioning to biology, Dr. Ramakrishnan conducted graduate studies at the University of California, San Diego, from 1976 to 1978, researching rhodopsin, followed by postdoctoral research at Yale University from 1978 to 1982, where he focused on ribosomes with Peter Moore.

During this time, he further explored advanced research techniques, employing Cryogenic electron microscopy to investigate eukaryotic and mitochondrial translation since 2013, and authored the book ‘Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome’ (2018). His research has been extensively published in leading scientific journals such as Nature, Science, and Cell. Most recently, Dr. Ramakrishnan was elected to the American Philosophical Society (2020) and became a board member of the British Library (2020).

In 2022, he was made a Member of the Order of Merit (OM), an exclusive honor bestowed by the British sovereign. Continuing his contributions to public understanding of science, he authored the book, ‘Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and The Quest for Immortality,’ released in 2024.