Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, Structural Biologist
Structural Biologist

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

Born 5 April 1952 · Tamil Nadu

Shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for determining the ribosome's structure and function.

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan is a British-American structural biologist. He shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Thomas A. Steitz and Ada Yonath for research on the structure and function of ribosomes.

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A detail that
surprised us

“

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born in a temple town in Tamil Nadu while his father was doing postdoctoral research in the US, and he only met his father when he was six months old.

The Story

1
Born in 1952 in the temple town of Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan’s start was unusual: his father was abroad in the US on a postdoctoral fellowship, and Ramakrishnan only met him when he was six months old, setting a tone of global scientific pursuit from infancy.
2
📚 As a physics undergraduate at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda in 1971, Ramakrishnan studied a then-new curriculum influenced by the Berkeley Physics Course and Feynman Lectures, planting seeds for his later interdisciplinary leap from physics to biology.
3🔬 In 1976, Ramakrishnan earned his PhD in physics at Ohio University, focusing on the ferroelectric phase transition of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP), but soon pivoted to biology at UC San Diego, embracing the challenge of mastering a new scientific language.
4Despite his growing expertise with ribosomes during his Yale postdoc in the early 1980s, Ramakrishnan faced rejection from about 50 US universities, forcing him to take staff scientist roles at national labs like Brookhaven, where he persevered in ribosome research without a formal faculty post.

🏅 Awards & Honours

2009
Nobel Prize in Chemistry
2010
Padma Vibhushan

🔍 One thing most people don't know

“

Ramakrishnan's mother completed her PhD in psychology at McGill University in just 18 months in 1959, studying under the renowned psychologist Donald O. Hebb.

🖼️

Through the Years

3 photographs from the archives
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan speaking with Ambassador Barzun at the Nobel Luncheon in 2009.
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan speaking with Ambassador Barzun at the Nobel Luncheon in 2009.
2009
Nobel Laureate Venkatraman Ramakrishnan at the Nobel Luncheon event in 2009.
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan interacting with students during Techfest lecture series in 2012.

🗓️ A Life in Moments

🕊️
Birth
Born in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan was born in the temple town of Chidambaram while his father was abroad in the US on a postdoctoral fellowship.
1952
📚
Education
Graduated BSc in Physics
Completed undergraduate studies at Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda on a National Science Talent Scholarship with a curriculum inspired by the Berkeley Physics Course.
1971
📚
Education
PhD in Physics at Ohio University
Earned doctorate focusing on ferroelectric phase transition of potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KDP) under Tomoyasu Tanaka.
1976
⚡
Career
Joined Brookhaven National Laboratory
Worked as a staff scientist focusing on ribosome research despite lacking a faculty position, persevering in structural biology.
1983
⚡
Career
Moved to MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
Became group leader at Cambridge’s MRC LMB, where he would make his Nobel-winning ribosome discoveries.
1999
🏅
Award
Awarded Nobel Prize in Chemistry
Shared the prize with Thomas Steitz and Ada Yonath for elucidating the ribosome’s atomic structure and function.
2009
⚡
Career
Became President of the Royal Society
Assumed leadership of the Royal Society, the UK’s premier scientific institution, serving until 2020.
2015
More moments to come...
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🗝️Discoveries

Swipe to uncover hidden stories
01 / 06
🔍LESSER KNOWN

Despite his Nobel-winning research on ribosomes, Ramakrishnan initially failed to secure a single faculty interview after applying to about 50 US universities.

02 / 06
🏆ACHIEVEMENT

In 2000, Ramakrishnan and his team had only 48 hours at Argonne National Laboratory to collect critical X-ray data that would reveal the ribosome’s 3D atomic structure.

03 / 06
👤PERSONAL

Ramakrishnan’s sister, Lalita Ramakrishnan, is a professor at the University of Cambridge and a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, highlighting a family legacy in biomedical research.

“

"We're going to be famous," Ramakrishnan declared to his team after the successful 2000 X-ray crystallography experiment at Argonne National Laboratory.

— Venkatraman Ramakrishnan

🎙️ Speeches & Recordings

These recordings preserve the legacy of Bharat's icons
Do We Have To Die? With Venki Ramakrishnan
More from this archive
Do We Have To Die? With Venki Ramakrishnan
01
Do We Have To Die? With Venki Ramakrishnan
Venki Ramakrishnan and the importance of sharing insights of scientific research with the public’
02
Venki Ramakrishnan and the importance of sharing insights of scientific research with the public’
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan - Press Room - The 4th Asian Awards
03
Venkatraman Ramakrishnan - Press Room - The 4th Asian Awards
BORN HERE, "NOBELLED" ABROAD !! :: 1/5 :: "NO-BALLED" AT HOME !!!???
04
BORN HERE, "NOBELLED" ABROAD !! :: 1/5 :: "NO-BALLED" AT HOME !!!???
Dr Venki Ramakrishnan - The TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences
05
Dr Venki Ramakrishnan - The TNQ Distinguished Lectures in the Life Sciences

🌱 What changed because of them

Ramakrishnan’s atomic-level mapping of the ribosome fundamentally changed how scientists understand protein synthesis, directly influencing the development of new antibiotics targeting bacterial ribosomes. His work at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology and role as Royal Society President helped institutionalize structural biology and biophysics as critical research fields worldwide.

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