Thressa Stadtman
ALT IMAGE TEXT
Thressa Stadtman in her lab, ca. 1970s
Born
Thressa Campbell

(1920-02-12)February 12, 1920[1]
Sterling, New York
DiedDecember 11, 2016(2016-12-11) (aged 96)
Derwood, Maryland
Alma mater
Known for
SpouseEarl Reece Stadtman
Scientific career
FieldsBiochemistry
InstitutionsNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
ThesisStudies on the methane-producing bacteria. (1949)
Doctoral advisorHorace Albert Barker

Thressa Campbell Stadtman (February 12, 1920 – December 11, 2016) was an American biochemist, notable for her discovery of selenocysteine,[2] and her research on selenoproteins and bioenergetics. In addition she made significant advances in amino acid metabolism, enzymes dependent on vitamin B12, and the biochemistry of microbes.[3]

Life

Drs Thressa and Earl Stadtman

In 1920, she was born in Sterling, New York. In 1940, she graduated from Cornell University, with a B.S. in Microbiology, and in 1942, with a M.S. in Microbiology and Nutrition. In 1949, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley, with a Ph.D. in Microbial Biochemistry. Her thesis was titled "Studies on Methane Fermentations", and subsequently worked as a postdoc for Christian B. Anfinsen.

She was married to Earl Reece Stadtman whom she met when they were both graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley.[4] They were both hired by what was then the National Heart Institute in 1950 becoming the first husband-and-wife team at the National Institutes of Health.[4] They both oversaw their own biochemistry labs and collaborated closely. In 2005, they were both honored by the NIH with an exhibit titled "The Stadtman Way: A Tale of Two Biochemists at NIH." [5]

Over a 60-year period, starting in 1943, she published 212 peer-reviewed papers.[6]

Stadtman was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1981.[7]

Stadtman died in December 2016 at the age of 96.[8]

References

  1. ^ "Curriculum Vitae- Thressa Campbell Stadtman" (PDF). Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  2. ^ Stadtman, Thressa C. (March 8, 1974). "Selenium Biochemistry". Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. 183 (4128): 916–922. Bibcode:1974Sci...183..915S. doi:10.1126/science.183.4128.915. PMID 4605100.
  3. ^ Bowman, John (1995). The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography (first ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521402583.
  4. ^ a b Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb (January 13, 2008). "Earl R. Stadtman, 88; Revered Biochemist, Mentor at NIH". Washington Post.
  5. ^ "The Stadtman Way: A Tale of Two Biochemists at NIH". history.nih.gov.
  6. ^ "CV" (PDF). history.nih.gov.
  7. ^ Rossiter, Margaret W. (2012). Women Scientists in America: Forging a New World Since 1972. Women Scientists in America. Vol. 3. Johns Hopkins University Press (published February 21, 2012). p. 257. ISBN 978-1421403632.
  8. ^ "Thressa Stadtman". www.nasonline.org.

External links

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