Daniela Rhodes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Daniela Rhodes
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Daniela Rhodes at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology
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| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Awards | FRS (2007); The WLA Prize in Life Science or Medicine (2023) |
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| Thesis | The helical periodicity of DNA in solution and in chromatin (1982) |
| Doctoral advisor | Aaron Klug |
Daniela Bargellini Rhodes FRS (born in 1946) is a very important Italian scientist. She studies the tiny parts that make up living things, like DNA and proteins. She worked as a senior scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. There, she also earned her PhD under the guidance of Aaron Klug, who won a Nobel Prize.
After her PhD, Daniela Rhodes continued her research at Cambridge. She became a group leader in 1983 and a senior scientist in 1994. This role is similar to being a full professor. From 2003 to 2006, she was the director of studies. She also visited and taught at universities in Rome, Italy, and New York, USA.
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Understanding Life's Building Blocks
Daniela Rhodes has made many key discoveries about how nucleic acids (like DNA) and proteins work. She combines different methods to study their shapes and how they interact.
DNA and Protein Interactions
Her work helped us understand how certain proteins connect with DNA. These connections are important for transcription, which is how our bodies read genetic information. For example, she studied proteins called zinc-fingers. She also looked at proteins found at the ends of our chromosomes, called telomeric proteins. These include human TRF1 and TRF2.
Chromatin Structure
A big part of her research focuses on chromatin. Chromatin is how DNA is packaged inside our cells. She helped figure out the structure of the nucleosome core particle. This is the basic unit of chromatin. She also studied how chromatin changes when genes are active. More recently, she has looked at the larger, more complex shape of chromatin, known as the 30nm structure. Her current research still explores how chromatin's structure helps control our genes. She also studies how telomeres keep our chromosomes healthy.
Work in Singapore
In 2011, Daniela joined the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore as a professor. She also became a professor at the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine in 2012. In 2014, she became the Director of the new Nanyang Institute of Structural Biology. She left NTU in 2020 and is now an Emeritus Scientist at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Daniela Rhodes has received many important awards for her scientific work.
- In 2023, she won the World Laureates Association Prize in Life Science or Medicine. She shared this award with two other scientists, Timothy J. Richmond and Karolin Luger.
- She was chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) in 2007. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK.
- Since 1996, she has been a member of the EMBO.
- She became a member of Academia Europaea in 2011.
- She is also a Fellow of Clare Hall, Cambridge.
- An asteroid was named after her! Asteroid 80008 Danielarhodes was discovered by Italian astronomers in 1999. It was officially named in her honor in 2011.
