Jane S. Richardson
| Jane S. Richardson | |
|---|---|
Jane Richardson
|
|
| Born |
January 25, 1941 Teaneck, New Jersey |
| Citizenship | American |
| Fields | Structural biology, Biophysics |
| Institutions | Duke University |
| Alma mater | Swarthmore College, Harvard University |
| Known for | Ribbon diagram, structure validation |
| Influences | Christian Anfinsen, Frederick Brooks, Frederic Richards |
| Notable awards | MacArthur Fellowship (1985) |
| Spouse | David C. Richardson |
Jane Shelby Richardson (born January 25, 1941) is an American biophysicist who developed the Richardson diagram, or ribbon diagram, method of representing the 3D structure of proteins. She is a professor in biochemistry at Duke University.
Richardson was born on January 25, 1941 and grew up in Teaneck, New Jersey. Her father was an electrical engineer and her mother was an English teacher. Her parents encouraged an interest in science and she was a member of local astronomy clubs as early as elementary school. She attended Teaneck High School and in 1958 while there won third place in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, the most prestigious science fair in the United States, with calculations of the satellite Sputnik's orbit from her own observations.
She continued her education in science at Swarthmore College, enrolling with the intention of studying mathematics, astronomy and physics. She instead graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor's degree in philosophy with a minor in physics, and pursued graduate work in philosophy at Harvard University, receiving her master's degree in 1966. After finding herself unsuited to teaching high school, she joined her husband David C. Richardson, then completing his PhD work at MIT, in studying the 3-dimensional structure of the Staphylococcal nuclease protein (1SNS) by X-ray crystallography. It was one of the first dozen protein structures solved. She later began drawing her eponymous diagrams as a method of interpreting the structures of protein molecules. She has been promoted to many prestigious positions in academia. In July 1985 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship for her work in biochemistry. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1991 and to the Institute of Medicine in 2006. She was elected president of the Biophysical Society for the 2012-2013 year, and a fellow of the American Crystallographic Association in 2012. Richardson is currently a James B. Duke Professor of Biochemistry at Duke University. As part of her role in the National Academy of Sciences, Richardson serves on panels that advise the White House and Pentagon regarding nationally important scientific matters (e.g.,).
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