Judith Klinman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Judith Pollock Klinman
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| Born | April 17, 1941 |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania A.B. (1962), Ph.D. (1966) |
| Awards | National Medal of Science (2012) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biochemistry Chemistry |
| Institutions | University of California at Berkeley |
| Thesis | A Kinetic Study of the Hydrolysis and Imidazole-Catalyzed Hydrolysis of Substituted Benzoyl Imidazole in Light and Heavy Water (1966) |
| Doctoral advisor | Edward R. Thornton |
| Doctoral students | Natalie Ahn |
Judith P. Klinman, born on April 17, 1941, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is a famous American scientist. She is known for her important work in biochemistry and chemistry. She studies how enzymes (special proteins) help chemical reactions happen in living things.
In 1978, Dr. Klinman made history. She became the first female professor in the physical sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. She is now a Professor of the Graduate School there. In 2012, she received the National Medal of Science. This is one of the highest honors a scientist can get in the United States. President Barack Obama gave her this award. She is also a member of several important science groups. These include the National Academy of Sciences.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Judith Klinman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. When she was young, her family moved around. They lived in Miami Beach, Florida, for a while. Then they returned to Philadelphia. Her mother and stepfather raised her. Neither of her parents finished college.
At first, Judith was interested in ballet. But her high school chemistry teacher sparked her interest in science. She went to Overbrook High School. She graduated as the second-best student in her class. She earned a scholarship for college. She decided to study at the University of Pennsylvania. This was even though some people thought she should become a lab technician.
College and Graduate Studies
In 1958, Klinman began studying chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn). While in college, she worked as a lab technician. She helped with research in medical physics. She earned her bachelor's degree in Chemistry in 1962.
After college, she was accepted into both medical school and graduate school. She chose to go to graduate school. In 1962, she started her chemistry studies at New York University (NYU). She felt that NYU helped her see the "excitement and beauty" of how organic reactions work.
After a year, she moved back to Philadelphia. She continued her graduate studies at UPenn. She worked with Professor Edward R. Thornton. She studied how certain chemicals called imidazoles react. She earned her Ph.D. in 1966.
Postdoctoral Research
After getting her Ph.D., Dr. Klinman traveled to Israel in 1966. She did more research at the Weizmann Institute of Science. She studied how metal ions affect chemical reactions. While there, she experienced the Six-Day War in 1967.
Later in 1967, she moved to Mill Hill, London, in the United Kingdom. Her husband was doing research there. She worked at University College London (UCL). She also took biochemistry classes.
In 1968, Klinman returned to the United States. She became a postdoctoral associate at the Institute for Cancer Research. She joined the lab of Irwin Rose. There, she studied how different enzymes work. She looked at how they change molecules.
Research Career
In 1972, Judith Klinman became an independent staff scientist. This was like being an Assistant Professor. In 1974, she joined the University of Pennsylvania as an Assistant Professor of Biophysics.
In 1978, she moved to the University of California, Berkeley. She became an Associate Professor in Chemistry. She was the first woman to be a faculty member in the physical sciences at UC Berkeley. Today, she is a Professor of the Graduate School there. She works in the Chemistry and Molecular and Cell Biology departments.
Key Discoveries
Dr. Klinman's research group has made important discoveries. They found that hydrogen atoms can "tunnel" through barriers. This happens in many enzyme reactions. This process is called hydrogen tunneling. It even happens at room temperature. They have helped explain how this tunneling works.
Her team also found a new type of cofactor in enzymes. These are called quino-enzymes. Cofactors are like helpers that enzymes need to do their job. These discoveries have helped scientists better understand how enzymes work.
Honors and Awards
Judith Klinman has received many awards for her scientific work.
- 1988: Guggenheim Fellowship
- 1993: Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 1994: Elected to the National Academy of Sciences
- 2000: Received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Uppsala, Sweden.
- 2001: Elected to the American Philosophical Society
- 2006: Received an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania
- 2007: Elected to the American Association for the Advancement of Science
- 2009: Elected to the Royal Society of Chemistry
- 2014: Awarded the National Medal of Science.
- 2015: Received the Mildred Cohn Award in Biological Chemistry.
- 2017: Received the Willard Gibbs Award.
Personal Life
Judith Klinman was married to Norman R. Klinman. He became a professor of immunology. They met at the University of Pennsylvania. They had two sons, Andrew and Douglas. Andrew was born while she was in graduate school. Douglas was born when she was doing research in Israel. They divorced in 1978.
Later, Judith Klinman married Mordechai Mitnick. He was a community organizer. He later became a therapist in Oakland. They raised four children together.
Videos
- 2012 - National Medals of Science (National Science & Technology Medals Foundation)
- 2014 - Thriving in Science Lecture: "Not Going It Alone"
- 2018 - NSF/JHU Quantum Biology and Quantum Processes in Biology Workshop - "Tunneling in Biology"
- 2020 - Interviewing Eminent Scientists - Prof. Judith Klinman
- 2022 - G.N. Lewis Lecture - "At the Interface of Quantum and Classical Behavior in Enzyme Catalysis"
See also
In Spanish: Judith Klinman para niños
