Dr. Susan Gottesman is a distinguished molecular biologist and leading authority in bacterial gene regulation at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health. She currently serves as Chief of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Head of its Biochemical Genetics Section, holding the prestigious designation of NIH Distinguished Investigator. After receiving her B.A. in biochemical sciences from Radcliffe College in 1967 and her Ph.D. in microbiology from Harvard University in 1972, she completed postdoctoral training at NCI's Laboratory of Molecular Biology from 1971 to 1974. She then served as a research associate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1974 to 1976 before returning to NCI, where she has established herself as a pioneering figure in molecular microbiology through decades of groundbreaking research.
Dr. Gottesman's seminal contributions include the discovery and elucidation of ATP-dependent proteases, a critical family of enzymes that require energy for protein degradation within cells, fundamentally transforming our understanding of cellular protein regulation. Her work revealed how these proteases play central roles in bacterial stress responses, quality control, and regulatory circuits, establishing new paradigms in cellular homeostasis. Additionally, she played a major role in the discovery and characterization of bacterial small RNAs, demonstrating their crucial functions in post-transcriptional regulation and expanding the scientific community's understanding of gene expression networks. These dual research streams have collectively reshaped molecular biology, providing essential insights into fundamental cellular processes with implications across microbiology, biochemistry, and disease mechanisms.
Beyond her experimental discoveries, Dr. Gottesman has significantly shaped her field through editorial leadership as editor of the Annual Review of Microbiology since 2008, guiding scholarly discourse in microbial science for over a decade. Her scientific excellence has been recognized through election to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors in American science, and her laboratory has trained numerous scientists who have become prominent researchers in their own right. As co-chief of NCI's Laboratory of Molecular Biology, she continues to foster an environment of rigorous scientific inquiry that bridges basic research with potential biomedical applications. Dr. Gottesman remains actively engaged in advancing our understanding of bacterial regulatory mechanisms, with her ongoing work continuing to illuminate fundamental principles of cellular function that have enduring relevance for both basic science and potential therapeutic applications.
