Jamie H.D. Cate

Made fundamental discoveries that transformed understanding of protein synthesis. His group determined the first crystal structure of the intact bacterial ribosome, leading to a series of impactful publications reporting structure of the bacterial ribosome in different states of the protein synthesis cycle. He reconstituted 13-subunit human translation initiation factor eIF3 and showed how it assembles on the small ribosomal subunit as an essential step in human translation initiation. His lab also discovered how to use a naturally occurring pathway for consuming plant biomass to improve dramatically the production of biofuels in yeast.