Nina V. Fedoroff | |
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| Born | (1942-04-09)April 9, 1942 (age 83) |
| Education | |
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| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Biology |
| Thesis | Purification and Properties of Bacteriophage f2 Replicase (1972) |
| Doctoral advisor | Norton Zinder |
Nina Fedoroff | |
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| 3rdScience and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State | |
| Preceded by | George Atkinson |
| Succeeded by | William Colglazier |
Nina Vsevolod Fedoroff (born April 9, 1942) is an American molecular biologist known for her research in life sciences andbiotechnology, especiallytransposable elements or jumping genes.[1] and plant stress response.[2][3] In 2007, PresidentGeorge W. Bush awarded her theNational Medal of Science, she is also a member of theUnited States National Academy of Sciences, theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences,[2] the European Academy of Sciences, and theAmerican Academy of Microbiology.[4]
Fedoroff, whose father was a Russian immigrant to the US and her mother a first generation immigrant, was born inCleveland, Ohio. Her first language was Russian.[5] When she was nine years old her family moved toFayetteville, New York, asuburb of the city ofSyracuse.
She then relocated toPhiladelphia where she planned to study music but returned to study science atSyracuse University.[5] She graduatedsumma cum laude in 1966 from Syracuse University with a dual major in biology and chemistry.[6][7][8] She received her PhD in molecular biology 1972 fromThe Rockefeller University.[9]
After graduating from Rockefeller University in 1972[9] she joined the faculty of theUniversity of California, Los Angeles, where she did research into nuclear RNA.[10] She moved in 1978[9] to theCarnegie Institution for Science in Baltimore, Maryland, worked on developmental biology at the Department of Embryology, where she pioneered DNA sequencing and worked out the nucleotide sequence of the first complete gene.[10] In 1978, she also joined the faculty ofJohns Hopkins University Biology Department, where she worked on the molecular characterization of maizetransposable elements or jumping genes, for whichBarbara McClintock was awarded aNobel Prize in 1983.[10]
In 1995, Fedoroff arrived atPennsylvania State University as the Verne M. Willaman professor of Life Sciences and founded and directed the organization now known as theHuck Institutes of the Life Sciences.[11] In 2002, she was appointed anEvan Pugh professor, the university's highest academic honor.[9][12] In 2013 Federoff was a distinguished visiting professor atKing Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST),[13] and a member of the external faculty of theSanta Fe Institute.[4][10]
In 1990, Fedoroff was honored with theHoward Taylor Ricketts Award fromUniversity of Chicago,[11] and in 1992 she received theNew York Academy of Sciences Outstanding Contemporary Women Scientist Award.[11] In 1997, Fedoroff received theJohn P. McGovern Science and Society Medal fromSigma Xi.[9] In 2003, she was awardedSyracuse University's George Arents Pioneer medal.[8]
In 2001, PresidentBill Clinton appointed Fedoroff to theNational Science Board, which oversees theNational Science Foundation.[11] which administers the science awards. Fedoroff was Science and Technology Adviser toU.S. Secretaries of State,Condoleezza Rice andHillary Clinton[6][14] and from 2007 to 2010 to the administratorRajiv Shah for theUnited States Agency for International Development.[15]In 2007, PresidentGeorge W. Bush awarded her theNational Medal of Science in the field of Biological Sciences, the highest award for lifetime achievement in scientific research in theUnited States.[11]Fedoroff wasPresident of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) from 2011 to 2012.[16] She is a member of theUnited States National Academy of Sciences, theAmerican Academy of Arts and Sciences,[2] the European Academy of Sciences, and theAmerican Academy of Microbiology.[4]
Fedoroff has three children and seven grandchildren. She enjoys music, theatre and singing.[3][5] Fedoroff was a single mother, and although she was studying and trying to make a living, she was able to raise two of her three children alone.[17]
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