Nenad Ban
Nenad Ban has been Assistant Professor of structural molecular biology sinceSeptember 1, 2000.
He was born in Zagreb, Croatia and educated at the University of Zagreb wherehe obtained a BS degree in Molecular Biology. His main research interest at thattime was the evolution of the components of the protein synthesis machinery. Bythe end of his studies, he received an award of the University of Zagreb foracademic achievements.
Dr. Ban s research interests during his Ph.D. study (1990-1994), at theUniversity of California at Riverside, focused on structural immunology andvirology. His continuing interest in the process of protein synthesis led him tothe Department of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University wherehe joined the group of Dr. Thomas Steitz as a Damon Runyon - Walter Winchellfund fellow and initiated the structural work on the large ribosomal subunit inthe fall of 1995. The structure was completed by spring 2000, and during thelast year of Dr. Ban s stay at Yale University he was appointed in anindependent position and established a small research group upon receiving aBurroughs Wellcome Career Award. The structure of the large ribosomal subunitprovided first glimpses into the architecture of all cellular ribonucleoproteinparticles and revealed that its active site is formed out of RNA making theribosome a ribozyme. In 2002 Dr. Ban was a co-recipient of the Newcomb-Clevelandprize, awarded by the American Association for Advancement of Science, for thisdiscovery. Since many clinically available antibacterial drugs inhibit theribosome, the structure of the large ribosomal subunit has importantimplications on the development of new and improvement of existing antibioticsand in efforts to overcome bacterial drug resistance.
Soon after the discovery was published, in the fall of 2000, Dr. Ban moved asan Assistant Professor of structural molecular biology to the Swiss FederalInstitute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) where he expanded his group whilemaintaining the focus of his research interest towards better understanding ofthe protein synthesis process. At ETH, Dr. Ban is involved in directing researchand teaching undergraduate and graduate level classes. Dr. Ban is married to Dr.Eilika Weber-Ban and they have a son, Arvid, who was born at the end of 2000 inZürich.
Institute of Molecular Biology and Biophysics
ETH Hönggerberg, HPK D 9.2
CH-8093 Zürich
Tel. + 41 1 633 27 85 , Fax + 41 1 633 12 46
