Dr. Roger David Kornberg is a preeminent structural biologist whose pioneering research has fundamentally advanced our understanding of gene expression mechanisms. He currently serves as the Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor of Medicine in the Department of Structural Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine, a position he has held since joining the institution in 1978. Born on April 24, 1947, in St. Louis, Missouri, Kornberg earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Harvard University in 1967 before completing his Ph.D. in Chemical Physics at Stanford University in 1972 under the supervision of Harden M. McConnell. Following his doctoral studies, he conducted postdoctoral research at the prestigious Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England, where he worked with Nobel laureate Aaron Klug, prior to serving as an Assistant Professor of Biological Chemistry at Harvard Medical School from 1976 to 1978.
Kornberg's most significant contribution to science is his elucidation of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2006. His research group at Stanford successfully developed a faithful transcription system from baker's yeast, which enabled them to isolate and characterize all the protein components required for the transcription process. This groundbreaking work revealed how genetic information is copied from DNA to RNA in eukaryotic cells, a fundamental process essential for all complex life forms. Kornberg's discoveries demonstrated that the protein components involved in transcription are remarkably conserved across the spectrum of eukaryotes, from simple unicellular organisms to humans, establishing a universal mechanism for gene expression. His earlier work in the 1970s was equally transformative, as he discovered the nucleosome, the basic structural unit of chromatin consisting of DNA wrapped around histone proteins.
Beyond his Nobel-winning research, Kornberg has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers that have profoundly influenced the fields of molecular biology and genetics. He served as editor of the Annual Review of Biochemistry from 2004 to 2025, shaping the dissemination of critical biochemical knowledge to the scientific community. His current research continues to focus on the intricate structure of the transcription machinery, with recent work including the determination of atomic-resolution structures of RNA polymerase II during active transcription and the discovery of the Mediator complex that regulates gene expression. Kornberg's laboratory remains at the forefront of structural biology, investigating the complete transcription apparatus and its control mechanisms in living cells, with significant implications for understanding and treating diseases such as cancer and heart disease that involve transcriptional dysregulation.
