Roger Kornberg

Dr. Kornberg is an American biochemist and professor of structural biology at Stanford University School of Medicine. In 2006, Dr. Kornberg was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription. He determined how DNA’s genetic blueprint is read and used to direct the process for protein manufacture. Dr. Kornberg carried out a significant part of the research leading to this prize at the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Laboratory (SSRL), a Department of Energy (DOE)-supported research facility located at the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC).

Prior to joining the faculty at Stanford University School of Medicine, Dr. Kornberg was a postdoctoral research fellow at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. In 1976 he became an Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry at Harvard Medical School before moving to his current present position at Stanford Medical School in 1978.