Joshua Lederberg ForMemRS | |
|---|---|
 Lederberg in New Delhi, India | |
| 5th President of Rockefeller University | |
| In office 1978–1990 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick Seitz |
| Succeeded by | David Baltimore |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 23, 1925 Montclair, New Jersey |
| Died | February 2, 2008 (aged 82) New York City |
| Spouse(s) | Esther Miriam Zimmer (1946–1966; divorced) Marguerite Stein Kirsch (1968–2008; 1 child, 1 stepchild) |
| Alma mater | Stuyvesant High School Columbia University Yale University |
| Known for | Neurospora crassa Bacterial conjugation Dendral Astrobiology Transduction |
| Awards | Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1958) National Medal of Science (1989) Presidential Medal of Freedom (2006) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Microbiologist |
| Thesis | Genetic recombination in Escherichia coli (1947) |
| Doctoral advisor | Edward Tatum |
| Doctoral students | Norton Zinder |
Joshua Lederberg ForMemRS[1] (May 23, 1925 – February 2, 2008)[2] was an American molecular biologist known for his work in microbial genetics, artificial intelligence, and the United States space program. He was 33 years old when he won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that bacteria can mate and exchange genes (bacterial conjugation).[3] He shared the prize with Edward Tatum and George Beadle, who won for their work with genetics.
In addition to his contributions to biology, Lederberg did extensive research in artificial intelligence. This included work in the NASA experimental programs seeking life on Mars and the chemistry expert system Dendral.
- ^ Bodmer, W.; Ganesan, A. (2011). "Joshua Lederberg. 23 May 1925 – 2 February 2008". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 57: 229–251. doi:10.1098/rsbm.2010.0024. S2CID 57778869.
- ^ "News - News". News.
- ^ Warwick, K. "The Joshua Lederberg Papers: Profiles in Science, National Library of Medicine", Biography, Volume 24, Number 4, Fall 2001, pp. 978-982