Nina Vsevolod Fedoroff (born April 9, 1942) is an American molecular biologist known for her research in life sciences and
biotechnology
Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...
, especially
transposable element
A transposable element (TE, transposon, or jumping gene) is a nucleic acid sequence in DNA that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing mutations and altering the cell's genetic identity and genome size. Transp ...
s or jumping genes.
and plant stress response.
[Elder, Andy (Fall 2002]
Faces of Penn State, 2002: Nina Fedoroff
Pennsylvania State University, PennState Eberly College of Science, Retrieved 14 May 2012 In 2007, President
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
awarded her the
National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
, she is also a member of the
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
,
the European Academy of Sciences, and the
American Academy of Microbiology
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...
.
[
]
Early Days
Fedoroff, whose father was a Russian immigrant to the US and her mother a first generation immigrant, was born in Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
. Her first language was Russian.[Nina Fedoroff, Class of 1960, Inducted in 2009]
Fayette-Manlius Schools Hall of Distinction Inductees, Retrieved 2 March 2014 When she was nine years old her family moved to Fayetteville, New York
Fayetteville is a village located in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the village had a population of 4,225. The village is named after the Marquis de Lafayette, a national hero of both France and the United St ...
, a suburb
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
of the city of Syracuse.
She then relocated to Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
where she planned to study music but returned to study science at Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
.[ She graduated ]summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
in 1966 from Syracuse University with a dual major in biology and chemistry. She received her PhD in molecular biology 1972 from The Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private biomedical research and graduate-only university in New York City, New York. It focuses primarily on the biological and medical sciences and provides doctoral and postdoctoral education. It is classified ...
.
Research career
After graduating from Rockefeller University in 1972[ she joined the faculty of the ]University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...
, where she did research into nuclear RNA.[ She moved in 1978][ to the ]Carnegie Institution for Science
The Carnegie Institution of Washington (the organization's legal name), known also for public purposes as the Carnegie Institution for Science (CIS), is an organization in the United States established to fund and perform scientific research. Th ...
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.[ In 1978, she also joined the faculty of ]Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
Biology Department, where she worked on the molecular characterization of maize transposable element
A transposable element (TE, transposon, or jumping gene) is a nucleic acid sequence in DNA that can change its position within a genome, sometimes creating or reversing mutations and altering the cell's genetic identity and genome size. Transp ...
s or jumping genes, for which Barbara McClintock was awarded a Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
in 1983.[
]
Academic positions
In 1995, Fedoroff arrived at Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
as the Verne M. Willaman professor of Life Sciences and founded and directed the organization now known as the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences.[ In 2002, she was appointed an ]Evan Pugh
Evan Pugh (February 29, 1828 – April 29, 1864) was the first president of the Pennsylvania State University, serving from 1859 until his death in 1864. An agricultural chemist, he was responsible for securing Penn State's designation in 1863 a ...
professor, the university's highest academic honor. In 2013 Federoff was a distinguished visiting professor at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), and a member of the external faculty of the Santa Fe Institute
The Santa Fe Institute (SFI) is an independent, nonprofit theoretical research institute located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States and dedicated to the multidisciplinary study of the fundamental principles of complex adaptive systems, includ ...
.[Fagan, Adam (22 February 2011]
Plant Biologist Nina Fedoroff Assumes AAAS Presidency
American Society of Plant Biologists, Press release, Retrieved 14 May 2012
Honors
In 1990, Fedoroff was honored with the Howard Taylor Ricketts
Howard Taylor Ricketts (February 9, 1871 – May 3, 1910) was an American pathologist after whom the family Rickettsiaceae and the order Rickettsiales are named.
He was born in Findlay, Ohio. In the early part of his career, Ricketts undertook ...
Award from University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
,[ and in 1992 she received the ]New York Academy of Sciences
The New York Academy of Sciences (originally the Lyceum of Natural History) was founded in January 1817 as the Lyceum of Natural History. It is the fourth oldest scientific society in the United States. An independent, nonprofit organization wi ...
Outstanding Contemporary Women Scientist Award.[ In 1997, Fedoroff received the John P. McGovern Science and Society Medal from ]Sigma Xi
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society () is a highly prestigious, non-profit honor society for scientists and engineers. Sigma Xi was founded at Cornell University by a junior faculty member and a small group of graduate students in 1886 ...
.[ In 2003, she was awarded ]Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
's George Arents Pioneer medal.
In 2001, President Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
appointed Fedoroff to the National Science Board
The National Science Board (NSB) of the United States establishes the policies of the National Science Foundation (NSF) within the framework of applicable national policies set forth by the President and the Congress. The NSB also serves as an ind ...
, which oversees the National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...
.[ which administers the science awards. Fedoroff was Science and Technology Adviser to ]U.S. Secretaries of State
The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's C ...
, Condoleezza Rice
Condoleezza Rice ( ; born November 14, 1954) is an American diplomat and political scientist who is the current director of the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as the 66th Uni ...
and Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
and from 2007 to 2010 to the administrator Rajiv Shah
Rajiv J. "Raj" Shah (born March 9, 1973) is the President of the Rockefeller Foundation. He is a former American government official, physician and health economist who served as the 16th Administrator of the United States Agency for Internation ...
for the United States Agency for International Development
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government that is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance. With a budget of over $27 bi ...
.[Staff,]
Nina Fedoroff, Professor of Life Sciences, Pennsylvania State University
The Economist Conferences 2012, Retrieved 14 May 2012
In 2007, President George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
awarded her the National Medal of Science
The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral and social scienc ...
in the field of Biological Sciences, the highest award for lifetime achievement in scientific research in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.[Staff,]
Fedoroff to Receive National Medal of Science
Pennsylvania State University, PennState Eberly College of Science, 2007 News, Retrieved 14 May 2012
Fedoroff was (AAAS) from 2011 to 2012. She is a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...
, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
, the European Academy of Sciences, and the American Academy of Microbiology
The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It wa ...
.[
]
Private life
Fedoroff has three children and seven grandchildren. She enjoys music, theatre and singing.[ Fedoroff was a single mother, and as she was studying and trying to make a living, she was able to raise her three children alone.]
Bibliography
Books
*
*Nina Fedoroff, Mendel in the Kitchen: A Scientist's View of Genetically Modified Foods, National Academy Press, 2004,
*Nina Fedoroff, Plant Transposons and Genome Dynamics in Evolution, Barnes & Noble, Wiley, John & Sons, Incorporated, 2013,
Essays and reporting
*
See also
* Barbara McClintock
References
External links
The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences
Nina V. Fedoroff, Evan Pugh Professor of Biology, Willaman Professor of Life Science, Penn State University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fedoroff, Nina
American women biologists
Living people
1942 births
Fayetteville-Manlius High School alumni
Syracuse University College of Arts and Sciences alumni
Rockefeller University alumni
Pennsylvania State University faculty
United States National Science Foundation officials
Scientists from Cleveland
American geneticists
National Medal of Science laureates
Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences
Presidents of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
People of the United States Agency for International Development
University of California, Los Angeles faculty
Johns Hopkins University faculty
People from Fayetteville, New York
Cosmos (Australian magazine) people
Santa Fe Institute people
Scientists from New York (state)
American people of Russian descent