Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

Nobel prize winning American and British structural biologist

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Born 1952 · age 74United States

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Wikipedia
71 languages
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Age
74
Born 1952
Awards
10
recognised works

Summary

Updated 2026-06-08

He mapped the ribosome — the molecular machine that reads genetic code and builds every protein in every living cell — work precise enough to earn a Nobel and rewrite how we think about the engine of life itself.

Biography

About

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born in 1952 and became a structural biologist working at the border of chemistry and cell mechanics. By 1999 he'd joined the Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, where he led the team that cracked the ribosome's atomic structure. In 2009 he shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath for that work — revealing how ribosomes decode RNA and stitch amino acids into proteins. Cambridge made him a Fellow of Trinity College; the Royal Society made him its President from 2015 to 2020.

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In their own words

Sourced, dated quotes from Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

saidundated

This is an honour that reflects the quality of science supported by the Medical Research Council, in particular at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge.

— Quoted in

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

saidundated

In the current debate about immigration, it is worth noting that this award is yet another example of the numerous contributions that immigrants make to British society.

— Quoted in "Knighthood for Venkatraman Ramakrishnan".

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

saidundated

Indeed, many of the founding members of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology were immigrants themselves, and they helped to revolutionise modern biology.

— Quoted in "Knighthood for Venkatraman Ramakrishnan".

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

saidundated

I think it is the ability to tackle difficult problems in a sort of stable and supportive environment. I think that is the real key to it.

— About his work in the Cambridge Laboratory of Molecular Biology quoted in

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

saidundated

I was quite insistent. We have quite a few pranksters in the lab and I thought this was one of them. I even congratulated the man, ironically, on his Swedish accent.

— When he refused to believe the telephonic news about his Nobel Prize and accused his caller a poor hoaxer.

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

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