Sinaida Rosenthal (22 February 1932 – 21 November 1988) was a German biochemist and

molecular biologist Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interact ...

. She worked as a professor at the

Humboldt University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative ...

and thereafter, until her death, as department head of the Central Institute for Microbiology at the

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

based German Academy of Sciences.

Life

Sinaida Gejelka was born in

where, between 1950 and 1955, she studied

Medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

at the

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

. Around this time she married the

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, thei ...

Hans-Alfred Rosenthal. It was also at the Humboldt that she received her doctorate, in 1960, for a dissertation entitled "Protein Release from Rat Liver Mitochondria" (''"Eiweißfreisetzung aus Rattenlebermitochondrien"''), and later, in 1969, her habilitation (higher level qualification) for which she was supervised by Samuel Mitja Rapoport. On this occasion her dissertation was entitled "On the Mechanism of Ribosome break down in Rabbit Reticulocytes" (''" Über den Mechanismus des Ribosomenabbaus von Kaninchenretikulozyten"''). In 1969, still at the Humboldt, she was appointed Professor for

Physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

and

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. In 1972 she switched to the Central Institute for Microbiology at the German Academy of Sciences in

Buch Buch (the German word for book or a modification of the German word '' Buche'' for beech) may refer to: People * Buch (surname), a list of people with the surname Buch Geography ;Germany: *Buch am Wald, a town in the district of Ansbach, Bavaria ...

, a district on the north-east of Berlin. She would remain here, in charge of the Genetics Department, till her death. She died as a result of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 1988.

Work and recognition

The focus of Rosenthal's research was on molecular biological and genetic aspects of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

and on the application of genetic engineering. In 1972 she became a corresponding member of the

German Academy of Sciences at Berlin The German Academy of Sciences at Berlin, german: Deutsche Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin (DAW), in 1972 renamed the Academy of Sciences of the GDR (''Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR (AdW)''), was the most eminent research institution ...

. Two years later she was accepted as a full member. From 1983 she was also a corresponding member of the East Germany Academy of Agri-sciences.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosenthal, Sinaida 1932 births 1988 deaths German biochemists German women biochemists German geneticists German molecular biologists Academic staff of the Humboldt University of Berlin Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin East German scientists East German women 20th-century German women