View source for Venki Ramakrishnan

{{short description|British-American structural biologist (born 1952)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Venki Ramakrishnan <!--Please do not add "Sir" or "PRS" or other post-nominals, per a non-controversial request received from the subject. OTRS ticket on talk page-->
| honorific_suffix = {{postnominals|country=GBR|OM|size=100%}} 
| image               = [[File:Nobel Prize 2009-Press Conference KVA-08.jpg|Nobel_Prize_2009-Press_Conference_KVA-08|200px]]
| caption             = Ramakrishnan in 2009
| image_size          = 100px, 100px
| title               = [[President of the Royal Society]]
| order               = 62nd
| term_start          = 1 December 2015
| term_end            = 30 November 2020
| predecessor         = [[Paul Nurse]]
| successor           = [[Adrian Smith (statistician)|Adrian Smith]]
| birth_name          = Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
| birth_date          = {{birth year and age|1952}}
| birth_place         = [[Chidambaram]], [[Madras State]] (now [[Tamil Nadu]]), India
| residence           = United Kingdom
| citizenship         = {{Plainlist|
* United Kingdom
* United States}}
| footnotes           = 
| spouse              = {{marriage|Vera Rosenberry|1975}}<ref name=nobio/>
| children            = 1<ref name=nobio/>
| mother              = [[Rajalakshmi Ramakrishnan]]
| relatives           = [[Lalita Ramakrishnan]] (sister)
| website             = {{URL|http://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/group-leaders/n-to-s/venki-ramakrishnan}}
| module              = {{Infobox academic 
| embed             = yes
| education         = {{Plainlist| 
* [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]] (BSc)
* [[University of California, San Diego]]<ref name=whoswho>{{Who's Who | title=Ramakrishnan, Sir Venkatraman | id = U45543 | year = 2015 | edition = online [[Oxford University Press]]|author=Anon|doi=10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.U45543}}</ref>
* [[Ohio University]] (PhD)}}
| thesis_title      = The Green Function Theory of the Ferroelectric Phase Transition in Potassium Dihydrogen-Phosphate
| thesis_year       = 1976
| thesis_url        = https://www.proquest.com/docview/302809453/
| doctoral_advisor  = Tomoyasu Tanaka<ref name=nobio/><ref name=physrevb/>
| doctoral_students =
| school_tradition  = {{Plainlist|
* [[Biochemistry]]
* [[Biophysics]]}}
| work_institution  = {{Plainlist|
*  [[Laboratory of Molecular Biology]]
* [[University of Cambridge]]<ref name=nobio/>
* [[Oak Ridge National Laboratory]]<ref name=nobio>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418053610/http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2009/ramakrishnan-bio.html|archive-date=18 April 2015|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2009/ramakrishnan-bio.html|website=nobelprize.org|location=Stockholm|title=Venkatraman Ramakrishnan – Biography: From Chidambaram to Cambridge: A Life in Science|accessdate=30 December 2022}}</ref>
* [[Yale University]]<ref name=nobio/>
* [[University of Utah]]<ref name=nobio/>
* [[Brookhaven National Laboratory]]<ref name=brookhaven>{{cite journal | last1=Cerf | first1=Corinne | last2=Lippens | first2=Guy | last3=Muyldermans | first3=Serge | last4=Segers | first4=Alain | last5=Ramakrishnan | first5=V. | last6=Wodak | first6=Shoshana J. | last7=Hallenga | first7=Klaas | last8=Wyns | first8=Lode | title=Homo- and heteronuclear two-dimensional NMR | journal=Biochemistry | volume=32 | issue=42 | year=1993 | pages=11345–11351 | doi=10.1021/bi00093a011 | pmid=8218199 }}</ref>}}
| known_for         = {{Plainlist|
* [[ribosome|Structure and function of the ribosome]]
* [[X-ray crystallography#Biological macromolecular crystallography|macromolecular crystallography]]}}
| awards            = {{Plainlist|
* [[Knight Bachelor]] (2012)<ref name=sirvenki/>
* [[Padma Vibhushan]] (2010)
* [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] (2009)<ref name=laureates/>
* [[Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine]] (2007)<ref name="Louis-Jeantet Prize">[https://www.jeantet.ch/en/prix-louis-jeantet/laureats/2007-en/docteur-venki-ramakrishnan/ Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine], jeantet.ch. Accessed 30 December 2022.</ref>
* [[Order of Merit]] (2022)<ref name="OM appointment"/>
}} 
}}
}}

'''Venkatraman Ramakrishnan''' <!--Please do not add "Sir" or "FRS" or other post-nominals, per a non-controversial request received from the subject. OTRS ticket on talk page--> (born 1952) is a British-American [[Structural biology|structural biologist]]. He shared the 2009 [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] with [[Thomas A. Steitz]] and [[Ada Yonath]] for research on the structure and function of [[ribosome]]s.<ref name=laureates>{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2009/|title = 2009 Chemistry Nobel Laureates|year=2009|publisher=Nobel Foundation|access-date=14 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="Rodnina Wintermeyer 2010 pp. 1–5">{{cite journal | last1=Rodnina | first1=Marina V. | last2=Wintermeyer | first2=Wolfgang | title=The ribosome goes Nobel | journal=Trends in Biochemical Sciences | volume=35 | issue=1 | year=2010 | pages=1–5 | doi=10.1016/j.tibs.2009.11.003 | pmid=19962317 }}</ref><ref name=ramak/><ref>[http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2009/ramakrishnan-interview.html Venkatraman Ramakrishnan Audio Interview] Official Nobel Foundation website telephone interview</ref>

Since 1999, he has worked as a group leader at the [[Medical Research Council (United Kingdom)|Medical Research Council]] (MRC) [[Laboratory of Molecular Biology]] (LMB) on the [[Cambridge Biomedical Campus]], UK and is a Fellow of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]].<ref>{{Cite journal 
| last1 = Nair | first1 = Prashant
| doi = 10.1073/pnas.1113044108 
| title = Profile of Venkatraman Ramakrishnan
| journal = [[Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences]] 
| year = 2011 
| pmid = 21914843 
| pmc =3179092
 | volume=108
 | issue=38
 | pages=15676–15678
| bibcode = 2011PNAS..10815676N
| doi-access = free
}} {{open access}}</ref><ref name=bbc>{{cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151010063036/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31869779|archive-date=10 October 2015|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-31869779|work=[[BBC News]]|location=London|title=Biologist Venki Ramakrishnan to lead Royal Society|date=18 March 2015}}</ref><ref name=nphd>{{cite thesis|degree=PhD|publisher=University of Cambridge|url=https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/267783|doi=10.17863/CAM.13713|title=Structural insights into noncanonical mechanisms of translation|first= Nathan Rhys|last=James|date=2017|id={{EThOS|uk.bl.ethos.725540}}|website=cam.ac.uk|oclc=1064932062}} {{free access}}</ref><ref>Venki Ramakrishnan {{Official website}}</ref><ref name=genemachine>{{cite book|title=Gene machine. The race to decipher the secrets of the ribosome|publisher=Oneworld|location=London|year=2018|isbn=9781786074362|oclc=1080631601|first=Venki|last=Ramakrishnan|url=https://oneworld-publications.com/gene-machine-hb.html}}</ref> He served as  [[President of the Royal Society]] from 2015 to 2020.<ref>{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/nature.2015.17153| title = Structural biologist named president of UK Royal Society| journal = Nature| year = 2015| last1 = Peplow | first1 = M.| s2cid = 112623895| doi-access = free}}</ref>

==Education and early life==
Ramakrishnan was born in 1952 in [[Chidambaram]] in [[Cuddalore district]] of [[Tamil Nadu]], India.

His parents,  Prof. C. V. Ramakrishnan and Prof. [[R. Rajalakshmi (scientist)|Rajalakshmi Ramakrishnan]] were both scientists,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5099742,prtpage-1.cms|title=Common root: Tamil Nadu gets its third laureate|date=8 October 2009|newspaper=Times of India|agency=TNN}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D. |url=https://achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/ |publisher=American Academy of Achievement |access-date=26 November 2022}}</ref> and his father was head of the department of biochemistry at the [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]].<ref name=nobio/><ref name=cvramakrishnan>{{cite journal|last1=Ramakrishnan |first1=C. V. |last2=Banerjee |first2=B. N. |title=Mould Lipase: Effect of Addition of Vitamins and Sterol to the Cake Medium on the Growth and the Activity of the Lipolytic Mould |journal=Nature |volume=168 |issue=4282 |year=1951 |pages=917–918 |doi=10.1038/168917a0|pmid=14899529 |bibcode=1951Natur.168..917R |s2cid=4244697}}</ref> At the time of his birth, Ramakrishnan's father was away from India doing [[postdoctoral research]] with [[David E. Green]] at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] in the US.<ref name=nobio/> Ramakrishnan's mother obtained a PhD in psychology from [[McGill University]] in 1959,<ref name=mumphd>{{cite thesis |degree=PhD |first=Rajalakshmi|last=Ramakrishnan |title=Comparative Effects of Successive and Simultaneous Presentation on Transfer in Verbal Learning |institution=McGill University |date=1959 |id={{ProQuest|301865011}}}}</ref> completing it in only 18 months, and was mentored, among others, by [[Donald O. Hebb]].<ref name=nobio/>

Ramakrishnan has one sibling, his younger sister [[Lalita Ramakrishnan]], who is professor of immunology and infectious diseases at the department of medicine, [[University of Cambridge]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.med.cam.ac.uk/ramakrishnan/ |title=Lalita Ramakrishnan Home page in Department of Medicine, University of Cambridge|date=26 November 2024 }}</ref> and a member of the [[National Academy of Sciences]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cam.ac.uk/for-staff/awards/lalita-ramakrishnan-elected-to-the-us-national-academy-of-sciences |title=Lalita Ramakrishnan elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences |publisher=University of Cambridge |access-date=30 January 2016}}</ref>

Ramakrishnan moved to [[Vadodara]] (previously also known as Baroda) in [[Gujarat]] at the age of three, where he had his entire schooling at the Convent of Jesus and Mary, except for a year and a half (1960–61) which he and his family spent in [[Adelaide]], Australia. Following his pre-science at the [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]], he did his undergraduate studies in the same university on a [[National Talent Search Examination|National Science Talent Scholarship]], graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in physics in 1971.<ref name=ramak>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419055305/http://www.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/ribo/homepage/ramak/|archive-date=19 April 2015|url=http://www.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/ribo/homepage/ramak/|title=Venkatraman_Ramakrishnan|publisher=University of Cambridge}}</ref> At the time, the physics course at Baroda was new, and based in part on the ''[[Berkeley Physics Course]]'' and ''[[The Feynman Lectures on Physics]]''.<ref name=nobio/>

Immediately after graduation, he moved to the US, where he obtained his Doctor of Philosophy degree in physics from [[Ohio University]] in 1976 for research into the [[Ferroelectricity|ferroelectric]] [[phase transition]] of [[Monopotassium phosphate|potassium dihydrogen phosphate]] (KDP)<ref name=venkiphd>{{cite thesis|degree=PhD |first=Venkatraman |last=Ramakrishnan |title=The Green function theory of the ferroelectric phase transition in KDP |institution=Ohio University |date=1976 |id={{ProQuest|302809453}} |oclc=3079828}}</ref> supervised by Tomoyasu Tanaka.<ref name=physrevb>{{cite journal|last1=Ramakrishnan |first1=Venkatraman |last2=Tanaka |first2=Tomoyasu |title=Green's-function theory of the ferroelectric phase transition in potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) |journal=[[Physical Review B]] |volume=16 |issue=1 |year=1977 |pages=422–426 |doi=10.1103/physrevb.16.422 |bibcode=1977PhRvB..16..422R}}</ref><ref name="toi">{{cite news|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-5098151,prtpage-1.cms |title=Venkatraman Ramakrishnan: a profile |newspaper=Times of India|access-date=7 October 2009 |date=7 October 2009}}</ref><ref name="reuters">{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/articlePrint?articleId=USTRE5962EE20091007 |title=Factbox: Nobel chemistry prize&nbsp;– Who are the winners?|access-date=7 October 2009 |work=Reuters |date=7 October 2009}}</ref> Then he spent two years studying biology as a graduate student at the [[University of California, San Diego]] while making a transition from theoretical physics to biology.<ref name="iex">{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/story-print/526251/ |title=Profile: Dr Venkatraman Ramakrishnan |date=7 October 2009 |newspaper=[[Indian Express]] |access-date=7 October 2009}}</ref>

==Career and research==
Ramakrishnan began work on [[ribosomes]] as a [[postdoctoral researcher|postdoctoral fellow]] with [[Peter Moore (chemist)|Peter Moore]] at [[Yale University]].<ref name=ramak/> After his postdoctoral fellowship, he initially could not find a faculty position even though he had applied to about 50 universities in the United States.<ref name="timesofindia.indiatimes.com">{{cite news| url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Nobel-laureate-Venkat-Ramakrishnan-failed-IIT-medical-entrance-tests/articleshow/5414148.cms | work=The Times of India | title=Nobel laureate Venkat Ramakrishnan failed IIT, medical entrance tests | date=5 January 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Venki Ramakrishnan, Ph.D. Biography and Interview |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=https://achievement.org/achiever/venki-ramakrishnan-ph-d/#interview|accessdate=30 December 2022}}</ref>

He continued to work on ribosomes from 1983 to 1995 as a staff scientist at [[Brookhaven National Laboratory]].<ref name=brookhaven/>

In 1995, he  moved to the [[University of Utah]] as a professor of biochemistry, and in 1999, he moved to his current position at the Medical Research Council [[Laboratory of Molecular Biology]] in [[Cambridge]], England, where he had also been a sabbatical visitor during 1991–92 on a [[Guggenheim Fellowship]].{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

In 1999, Ramakrishnan's laboratory published a 5.5 [[angstrom]] resolution structure of the [[30S]] subunit. The following year, his laboratory determined the complete molecular structure of the 30S subunit of the ribosome and its complexes with several [[antibiotics]]. This was followed by studies that provided structural insights into the mechanism that ensures the fidelity of [[protein biosynthesis]]. In 2007, his laboratory determined the atomic structure of the whole ribosome in complex with its [[tRNA]] and [[mRNA]] ligands. Since 2013, he has used [[Cryogenic electron microscopy]] to work primarily on eukaryotic and mitochondrial translation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Fernández|first1=Israel S.|last2=Bai|first2=Xiao-Chen|last3=Hussain|first3=Tanweer|last4=Kelley|first4=Ann C.|last5=Lorsch|first5=Jon R.|last6=Ramakrishnan|first6=V.|last7=Scheres|first7=Sjors H. W.|date=15 November 2013|title=Molecular architecture of a eukaryotic translational initiation complex|journal=Science|volume=342|issue=6160|pages=1240585|doi=10.1126/science.1240585|issn=1095-9203|pmc=3836175|pmid=24200810}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Amunts|first1=Alexey|last2=Brown|first2=Alan|last3=Bai|first3=Xiao-Chen|last4=Llácer|first4=Jose L.|last5=Hussain|first5=Tanweer|last6=Emsley|first6=Paul|last7=Long|first7=Fei|last8=Murshudov|first8=Garib|last9=Scheres|first9=Sjors H. W.|date=28 March 2014|title=Structure of the yeast mitochondrial large ribosomal subunit|journal=Science|volume=343|issue=6178|pages=1485–1489|doi=10.1126/science.1249410|issn=1095-9203|pmc=4046073|pmid=24675956|bibcode=2014Sci...343.1485A}}</ref> Ramakrishnan is also known for his past work on [[histone]] and [[chromatin]] structure.

{{As of|2019}} his most cited papers (according to [[Google Scholar]]<ref name=googlescholar>{{Google Scholar id | oTI5BjIAAAAJ | Venki Ramakrishnan}}</ref>) have been published in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]'',<ref name=nature1>{{cite journal | last1=Ramakrishnan | first1=V. | last2=Wimberly | first2=Brian T. | last3=Brodersen | first3=Ditlev E. | last4=Clemons | first4=William M. | last5=Morgan-Warren | first5=Robert J. | last6=Carter | first6=Andrew P. | last7=Vonrhein | first7=Clemens | last8=Hartsch | first8=Thomas | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume=407 | issue=6802 | year=2000 | pages=327–339 | doi=10.1038/35030006 | title=Structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit|pmid=11014182| bibcode=2000Natur.407..327W | s2cid=4419944 }}</ref><ref name=nature2>{{cite journal | last1=Ramakrishnan | first1=V. | last2=Carter | first2=Andrew P. | last3=Clemons | first3=William M. | last4=Brodersen | first4=Ditlev E. | last5=Morgan-Warren | first5=Robert J. | last6=Wimberly | first6=Brian T. | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume=407 | issue=6802 | year=2000 | pages=340–348  | doi=10.1038/35030019 | pmid = 11014183|title=Functional insights from the structure of the 30S ribosomal subunit and its interactions with antibiotics| bibcode=2000Natur.407..340C | s2cid=4408938 | url=https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechAUTHORS:20181030-134119194 }}</ref><ref name=nature3>{{cite journal | last1=Ramakrishnan | first1=V. | last2=Finch | first2=J. T. | last3=Graziano | first3=V. | last4=Lee | first4=P. L. | last5=Sweet | first5=R. M. | title=Crystal structure of globular domain of histone H5 and its implications for nucleosome binding | journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]] | volume=362 | issue=6417 | year=1993 | pages=219–223 | doi=10.1038/362219a0|pmid=8384699 | bibcode=1993Natur.362..219R | s2cid=4301198 }}</ref> ''[[Science (journal)|Science]]'',<ref name=science1>{{cite journal |doi=10.1126/science.1131127|pmid=16959973|title=Structure of the 70S Ribosome Complexed with mRNA and tRNA|journal=Science|volume=313|issue=5795|pages=1935–1942|year=2006|last1=Selmer|first1=M.|bibcode=2006Sci...313.1935S|s2cid=9737925}}</ref><ref name=science2>{{cite journal | doi=10.1126/science.1060612| pmid=11340196| title=Recognition of Cognate Transfer RNA by the 30S Ribosomal Subunit| journal=Science| volume=292| issue=5518| pages=897–902| year=2001| last1=Ogle| first1=J. M.| bibcode=2001Sci...292..897O| s2cid=10743202}}</ref> and ''[[Cell (journal)|Cell]]''.<ref name=cell1>{{cite journal|doi=10.1016/s0092-8674(02)00619-0|pmid=11909526|title=Ribosome Structure and the Mechanism of Translation|journal=Cell|volume=108|issue=4|pages=557–572|year=2002|last1=Ramakrishnan|first1=V.|s2cid=2078757|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=cell2>{{cite journal | last1=Brodersen | first1=Ditlev E. | last2=Clemons | first2=William M. | last3=Carter | first3=Andrew P. | last4=Morgan-Warren | first4=Robert J. | last5=Wimberly | first5=Brian T. | last6=Ramakrishnan | first6=V. | title=The Structural Basis for the Action of the Antibiotics Tetracycline, Pactamycin, and Hygromycin B on the 30S Ribosomal Subunit | journal=Cell | volume=103 | issue=7 | year=2000 | pages=1143–1154  | doi=10.1016/s0092-8674(00)00216-6 | pmid=11163189| s2cid=7763859 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=cell3>{{cite journal | last1=Ogle | first1=James M. | last2=Murphy | first2=Frank V. | last3=Tarry | first3=Michael J. | last4=Ramakrishnan | first4=V. | title=Selection of tRNA by the Ribosome Requires a Transition from an Open to a Closed Form | journal=Cell | volume=111 | issue=5 | year=2002 | pages=721–732  | doi=10.1016/s0092-8674(02)01086-3 |pmid= 12464183| s2cid=10784644 | doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Presidency of the Royal Society===
Ramakrishnan's term as president of the Royal Society from 2015-2020 was dominated by [[Brexit]] and, in his final year, the COVID-19 pandemic and its response.<ref>{{cite web|author=Clive Cookson|date=20 November 2020|title='Voice of British science fights for future of UK research'|url=https://www.ft.com/content/dcc54f4e-9ace-41e5-8a0e-51a65abe3396|newspaper=The Financial Times}}</ref> In an interview in July 2018, he said that Britain's decision to leave the [[European Union]] was hurting Britain's reputation as a good place to work in science, commenting "It's very hard for the science community to see any advantages in [[Brexit]]. They are pretty blunt about that." He saw advantages to both the UK and the EU for Britain to continue to be engaged in [[Galileo (satellite navigation)|Galileo]] and [[Euratom]], which, unlike the [[European Medicines Agency]], are not EU agencies.<ref>{{cite web|author=Ian Tucke|date=15 July 2018|title=Venkatraman Ramakrishnan: 'Britain's reputation has been hurt'|url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jul/15/venkatraman-ramakrishnan-interview-brexit-science-funding-innovation-collaboration-royal-society|newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref>

Ramakrishnan argued that a no-deal Brexit would harm science. Ramakrishnan wrote, "A deal on science is in the best interests of Europe as a whole and should not be sacrificed as collateral damage over disagreements on other issues. If we are going to successfully tackle global problems like climate change, human disease and food security, we can't do so in isolation. There is no scenario where trashing our relationships with our closest scientific collaborators in the EU gets us closer to these goals."<ref>[https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/brexit-no-deal-science-the-royal-society-venki-ramakrishnan-a8471326.html A no-deal Brexit would be a disaster for the UK science community], ''[[The Independent]]''. Accessed 30 December 2022.</ref>

===Awards and honours===
[[File:Nobel Prize 2009-Press Conference KVA-08.jpg|thumb|upright|Ramakrishnan at the Nobel Prize Press conference in 2009]]

[[File:The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting Padma Vibhushan Award to Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 31, 2010.jpg|thumb|The President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patil presenting Padma Vibhushan Award to Dr. Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on March 31, 2010]]
Ramakrishnan was elected a Member of the [[European Molecular Biology Organization]] in 2002,<ref name=embo>{{cite web|url=http://www.embo.org/documents/members/The_EMBO_Pocket_Directory.pdf|title=The EMBO Pocket Directory|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150316002020/http://www.embo.org/documents/members/The_EMBO_Pocket_Directory.pdf|archive-date=16 March 2015|publisher=European Molecular Biology Organization}}</ref> a [[List of Fellows of the Royal Society elected in 2003|Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2003]],<ref name=frs>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906214606/https://royalsociety.org/people/venki-ramakrishnan-12139/|archive-date=6 September 2015|url=https://royalsociety.org/people/venki-ramakrishnan-12139/|title=Sir Venki Ramakrishnan FRS|publisher=Royal Society|location=London}}</ref> and a Member of the U.S. [[United States National Academy of Sciences|National Academy of Sciences]] in 2004.

In 2007, Ramakrishnan was awarded the [[Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine]]<ref name="Louis-Jeantet Prize"/> and the [[Federation of European Biochemical Societies#Datta Lectureship and Medal|Datta Lectureship and Medal]] of the [[Federation of European Biochemical Societies|Federation of European Biochemical Societies (FEBS)]].

Ramakrishnan was awarded the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]] in 2009, along with [[Thomas A. Steitz]] and [[Ada Yonath]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/index.html|title=All Nobel Laureates in Chemistry|publisher=Nobel Foundation|access-date=7 October 2009}}</ref> He received India's second highest civilian honor, the [[Padma Vibhushan]], in 2010.<ref>{{cite press release |title=This Year's Padma Awards announced  |url=http://www.pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=57307 |publisher=[[Ministry of Home Affairs (India)|Ministry of Home Affairs]] |date=25 January 2010 |access-date=25 January 2010}}</ref>

In 2008, Ramakrishnan won the Heatley Medal of the British [[Biochemical Society]], and became a Fellow of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]] and a foreign Fellow of the [[Indian National Science Academy]]. He has been a member of the [[German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina]] and<ref>{{cite web |title= Venkatraman Ramakrishnan |url=https://www.leopoldina.org/mitgliederverzeichnis/mitglieder/member/Member/show/venkatraman-ramakrishnan/|publisher=German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina |access-date=26 May 2021}}</ref>  an [[Honorary Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences]] (Hon FMedSci) since 2010.

He has received honorary degrees from the [[Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda]], [[University of Utah]], [[Ohio University]] and [[University of Cambridge]]. He is also an Honorary Fellow of [[Trinity College, Cambridge]],<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.trin.cam.ac.uk/fellows/master-fellows/honorary-fellows/ | title=Honorary Fellows }}</ref> [[Somerville College, Oxford]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.some.ox.ac.uk/about-somerville/emeritus-and-honorary-fellows/|title=Emeritus and Honorary Fellows|access-date=26 August 2018|publisher=[[Somerville College, Oxford]]}}</ref> and [[The Queen's College, Oxford]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.queens.ox.ac.uk/honorary-supernumerary-emeritus-fellows/ |title=Honorary & Supernumary Fellows |date=19 October 2022 |publisher=[[The Queen's College, Oxford]]}}</ref>

Ramakrishnan was [[Knight Bachelor|knighted]] in the [[2012 New Year Honours]] for services to [[molecular biology]],<ref name=sirvenki>{{London Gazette |issue=60009 |date=31 December 2011 |page=1 |supp=y}}</ref> but does not generally use the title "Sir". That same year, he was awarded the [[Sir Hans Krebs Medal]] by the FEBS. In 2014, he was awarded the XLVI [[:es:Premio Lección Conmemorativa Jiménez Díaz|Jiménez-Díaz Prize]] by the Fundación Conchita Rábago (Spain).

In 2017, Ramakrishnan received the Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]].<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url=  https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/#science-exploration|accessdate=30 December 2022}}</ref>

Ramakrishnan was included as one of 25 Greatest Global Living Indians by [[NDTV]] Channel, India on 14 December 2013.

His certificate of election to the Royal Society reads:
{{blockquote|Ramakrishnan is internationally recognised for determination of the atomic structure of the [[30S]] ribosomal subunit. Earlier he mapped the arrangement of proteins in the 30S subunit by [[neutron diffraction]] and solved [[X-ray crystallography|X-ray structures]] of individual components and their RNA complexes. Fundamental insights came from his crystallographic studies of the complete 30S subunit. The atomic model included over 1500 bases of [[RNA]] and 20 associated proteins. The RNA interactions representing the [[P-site]] [[Transfer RNA|tRNA]] and the mRNA binding site were identified and the likely modes of action of many clinically important antibiotics determined. His most recent work goes to the heart of the decoding mechanism showing the 30S subunit complexed with poly-U mRNA and the [[stem-loop]] of the cognate [[phenylalanine]] tRNA. [[Transfer RNA#Anticodon|Anti-codon]] recognition leaves the "[[Wobble base pair|wobble" base]] free to accommodate certain non-Watson/Crick [[base pair|basepairs]], thus providing an atomic description of both codon:anti-codon recognition and "wobble". He has also made substantial contributions to understanding how [[chromatin]] is organised, particularly the structure of linker [[histone]]s and their role in [[Protein folding|higher order folding]].<ref name=royal>{{cite web |url=https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=1&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27ramakrishnan%27%29 |title=Venkatraman Ramakrishnan: Certificate of Election EC/2003/31 |publisher=The Royal Society |archive-date=5 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170505104157/https://collections.royalsociety.org/DServe.exe?dsqIni=Dserve.ini&dsqApp=Archive&dsqCmd=Show.tcl&dsqDb=Catalog&dsqPos=1&dsqSearch=%28%28text%29%3D%27ramakrishnan%27%29 |location=London |year=2003 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all |access-date=18 June 2015 }}</ref>}}

In 2020, he was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/american-philosophical-society-welcomes-new-members-2020|title=The American Philosophical Society Welcomes New Members for 2020}}</ref> and became a board member of the [[British Library]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Venki Ramakrishnan appointed to the British Library Board|url=https://www.bl.uk/press-releases/2020/july/venki-ramakrishnan-appointed-to-the-british-library-board|access-date=5 July 2020|website=British Library}}</ref>

Ramakrishnan was made a [[Member of the Order of Merit]] (OM) in 2022.<ref name="OM appointment">{{Cite news |last=His Majesty The King  |title=New Appointments to the Order of Merit |url=https://www.royal.uk/new-appointments-order-of-merit |access-date=11 November 2022|website=royal.uk|date=11 November 2022 }}</ref>

==Personal life==
In 1975, Ramakrishnan married Vera Rosenberry, an author and illustrator of children's books.<ref name=nobio/> He has a step-daughter, Tanya Kapka, a physician, specializing in public health and health-care delivery to under-served communities; and a son, Raman Ramakrishnan, a cellist specializing in chamber music and professor at [[Bard College]] in [[New York State]].<ref name="family">{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091017/jsp/frontpage/story_11626163.jsp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022071023/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091017/jsp/frontpage/story_11626163.jsp|url-status=dead|archive-date=22 October 2009|title='Venki' makes light of India link&nbsp;– Winner says not to treat science like cricket; league of misses grows|author=Amit Roy|date=17 October 2009|newspaper=[[The Telegraph (Kolkata)]]|access-date=17 October 2009}}</ref>

==Books==

*''Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and The Quest for Immortality'' (2024)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.harpercollins.com/products/why-we-die-venki-ramakrishnan |title=Why We die }}</ref>

*''Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome'' (2018)<ref>{{Cite book|date=2024|title=Gene Machine: The Race to Decipher the Secrets of the Ribosome|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sRVsDwAAQBAJ|isbn=978-93-5302-324-9 |language=en-GB |last1=Ramakrishnan |first1=Venki |publisher=HarperCollins }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{Nobelprize}} including the Nobel Lecture on 8 December 2009 ''Unraveling the Structure of the Ribosome''
*{{Commons category-inline|Venkatraman Ramakrishnan}}
*{{Wikiquote-inline|Venkatraman Ramakrishnan}}

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{{s-bef|before=[[Paul Nurse]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=President of the [[Royal Society]]|order=62nd|years=2015–2020}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Adrian Smith (statistician)|Adrian Smith]]}}
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{{Nobel Prize in Chemistry Laureates 2001-2025}}
{{2009 Nobel Prize Winners}}
{{FRS 2003}}
{{Padma Vibhushan Awards}}
{{Royal Society presidents}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramakrishnan, Venki}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:American biochemists]]
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