Paul Schimmel PhD

Schimmel is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and is a world renowned expert on cell molecular biology, biochemistry and enzymology or the study of enzymes. He has dedicated his 40+-year career to the decoding of genetic information in translation, protein-RNA recognition, and the connections between translation and cell signaling.

Much of his research has focused upon the enzyme, tRNA synthetase, which catalyzes the reaction between the genetic code in RNA and amino acids or the individual components of proteins. His research on tRNA synthetases has suggested, and is believed by many, to be among the first enzymes to arise on the planet in the early stages of the evolution of life.