Thressa Stadtman (original) (raw)

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American biochemist

Thressa Stadtman
ALT IMAGE TEXTThressa Stadtman in her lab, ca. 1970s
Born Thressa Campbell(1920-02-12)February 12, 1920[1]Sterling, New York
Died December 11, 2016(2016-12-11) (aged 96)Derwood, Maryland
Alma mater Cornell University University of California, Berkeley
Known for Discovery of selenocysteine Member of the National Academy of Sciences
Spouse Earl Reece Stadtman
Scientific career
Fields Biochemistry
Institutions National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Thesis Studies on the methane-producing bacteria. (1949)
Doctoral advisor Horace Albert Barker

Thressa Campbell Stadtman (February 12, 1920 – December 11, 2016) was an American biochemist, notable for her discovery of selenocysteine,[2] and her research on selenoproteins and bioenergetics. In addition she made significant advances in amino acid metabolism, enzymes dependent on vitamin B12, and the biochemistry of microbes.[3]

Drs Thressa and Earl Stadtman

In 1920, she was born in Sterling, New York. In 1940, she graduated from Cornell University, with a B.S. in Microbiology, and in 1942, with a M.S. in Microbiology and Nutrition. In 1949, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley, with a Ph.D. in Microbial Biochemistry. Her thesis was titled "Studies on Methane Fermentations", and subsequently worked as a postdoc for Christian B. Anfinsen.

She was married to Earl Reece Stadtman whom she met when they were both graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley.[4] They were both hired by what was then the National Heart Institute in 1950 becoming the first husband-and-wife team at the National Institutes of Health.[4] They both oversaw their own biochemistry labs and collaborated closely. In 2005, they were both honored by the NIH with an exhibit titled "The Stadtman Way: A Tale of Two Biochemists at NIH." [5]

Over a 60-year period, starting in 1943, she published 212 peer-reviewed papers.[6]

Stadtman was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1981.[7]

Stadtman died in December 2016 at the age of 96.[8]

  1. ^ "Curriculum Vitae- Thressa Campbell Stadtman" (PDF). Retrieved 14 September 2015.
  2. ^ Stadtman, Thressa C. (March 8, 1974). "Selenium Biochemistry". Science. 183 (4128). American Association for the Advancement of Science: 916–922. Bibcode:1974Sci...183..915S. doi:10.1126/science.183.4128.915. PMID 4605100.
  3. ^ Bowman, John (1995). The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography (first ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0521402583.
  4. ^ a b Yvonne Shinhoster Lamb (January 13, 2008). "Earl R. Stadtman, 88; Revered Biochemist, Mentor at NIH". Washington Post.
  5. ^ "The Stadtman Way: A Tale of Two Biochemists at NIH". history.nih.gov.
  6. ^ "CV" (PDF). history.nih.gov.
  7. ^ Rossiter, Margaret W. (2012). Women Scientists in America: Forging a New World Since 1972. Women Scientists in America. Vol. 3. Johns Hopkins University Press (published February 21, 2012). p. 257. ISBN 978-1421403632.
  8. ^ "Thressa Stadtman". www.nasonline.org.