Health Dictionary
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Venki Ramakrishnan
Introduction
Venki Ramakrishnan is a structural biologist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council located in Cambridge, England[1]. In 2000, his laboratory determined the structure of the 30S subunit of the ribosome and its complexes with several antibiotics[2]. This was followed by studies that provided structural insights into the mechanism that ensures the fidelity of protein biosynthesis. More recently, his laboratory has determined the atomic structure of the whole ribosome in complex with its tRNA and mRNA ligands. Ramakrishnan is also known for his past work on histone and chromatin structure. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society, and a member of EMBO and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.