JERUSALEM (VINnews) — Professor Ada Yonath, the Israeli scientist who won the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her groundbreaking research into the ribosome, has died at the age of 87.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
Yonath, a senior researcher in the Department of Chemical and Structural Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science, devoted decades of research to deciphering the structure and function of the ribosome, the cellular machinery responsible for producing proteins.
Her work transformed scientists’ understanding of how antibiotics interact with bacterial ribosomes and helped pave the way for new treatments targeting antibiotic-resistant bacteria, one of the most pressing challenges in modern medicine.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog mourned Yonath’s death, describing her as “one of the leading researchers in the history of Israeli science.”
“Anyone who followed Professor Yonath’s scientific journey knew that she was an international trailblazer, and a pioneer who proved that curiosity, dedication, and unwavering determination can push back the frontiers of human knowledge,” Herzog said.
“Her groundbreaking discoveries changed the face of science and brought great honor to the State of Israel.”
Herzog also praised Yonath as an inspiration to generations of scientists in Israel and around the world, saying she would be remembered for “her modesty, the originality of her thinking, and as a role model and inspiration.”
Weizmann Institute President Professor Alon Chen also paid tribute to Yonath, calling her “an extraordinary scientist who was not afraid to choose a path that others thought impossible and to pursue it with determination, curiosity and courage for decades.”
“Ada’s breakthrough in ribosome research transformed our understanding of one of the most fundamental processes of life and opened new possibilities in the fight against antibiotic resistance,” Chen said.
“But Ada’s legacy is even greater than her scientific achievements. She showed generations of female and male scientists what can be achieved when one dares to ask big questions and refuses to give up on the relentless search for answers.”
Chen noted that Yonath, who held the title of “Institute Professor,” the highest rank awarded by the Weizmann Institute to a select group of distinguished scientists, remained professionally active until the end of her life.
“She continued researching and publishing, maintaining an active laboratory and conducting scientific collaborations right up until her final days,” he said.
Yonath’s academic career began at a time when many scientists considered her chosen field of research nearly impossible. In the late 1970s, the prevailing scientific view was that the ribosome was too complex to be crystallized and studied using X-ray crystallography. Yonath later recalled that some colleagues dismissed her as a “fantasist.”
Undeterred, Yonath and her team carried out approximately 25,000 experiments before successfully producing the first ribosome crystals in 1980. Over the following two decades, she continued refining her techniques, including developing cryo-bio-crystallography, a method involving rapid freezing that helps protect crystals from being destroyed by radiation during experiments.
A major breakthrough came in 2000, when research teams led by Yonath at the Weizmann Institute and the Max Planck Institute in Germany succeeded in determining the complete three-dimensional structures of the subunits of the bacterial ribosome. The journal Science subsequently named the achievement one of the 10 leading scientific breakthroughs of 2000.
The following year, Yonath’s research helped explain how antibiotics bind to the bacterial ribosome and block protein production. The findings provided important insights into how bacteria respond to antibiotics and develop resistance to them.
Yonath was born in Jerusalem in 1939 into a family of limited means. Her father died when she was a child, and she worked from a young age to help support her family while continuing her education. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before completing her doctorate at the Weizmann Institute in 1968.
After conducting postdoctoral research in the United States, she returned to Israel and in 1970 established the country’s first protein crystallography laboratory at the Weizmann Institute. Over the course of her career, Yonath headed scientific departments, directed research centers and became a member of numerous Israeli and international scientific academies, including the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, she received the Israel Prize, Wolf Prize, EMET Prize and numerous honorary doctorates from universities around the world.
Despite the international recognition and prestigious awards she accumulated throughout her career, Yonath once said that the honor closest to her heart was a “World’s Best Grandma” certificate presented to her by her granddaughter, Noa.
Yonath is survived by her daughter, Dr. Hagit Yonath, director of an internal medicine department at Sheba Medical Center, and her granddaughter.
Professor Yonath’s dedication to a difficult field shows what focus can build. Her work on ribosomes and antibiotic resistance has a lasting impact. It is a powerful example of pursuing a long-term vision, even when others doubt it.