Dr. Rajendra Agrawal of the Wadsworth Center hosted 2009 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan, for a standing room only seminar, entitled “Initiation of Translation by the Ribosome”, that was held at the David Axelrod Institute on April 1, 2026. Dr. Ramakrishnan met multiple Wadsworth scientists in small group meetings.
“Initiation of Translation by the Ribosome”
Ribosomes are cellular machines that conduct protein synthesis (or gene translation) in both bacteria and higher organisms such as humans. The mechanism of initiation of translation is among the most fundamental and highly regulated cellular processes. Dr. Ramakrishnan's presentation focused primarily on how translation works in eukaryotic cells. Dr. Ramakrishnan is primarily known for his research on bacterial ribosomes using X-ray crystallography, but the work he presented in his seminar primarily involved the use of cryo-EM technique originally developed at the Wadsworth Center and for which Dr. Frank was recognized with a Chemistry Nobel Prize in 2017.
How does Dr. Ramakrishnan's work relate to work performed at the Wadsworth Center?
Wadsworth Center has had longstanding interest in investigating ribosome structure and function and mechanism of protein synthesis. For example, for more than three decades, the Agrawal Laboratory at the Wadsworth Center has been applying the cryo-EM techniques to the study of ribosomes, including ribosomes from human mitochondria and tuberculosis (TB) pathogens, while other Wadsworth Center researchers (e.g., Ghosh, Gray, Ojha and Wade) apply their expertise in genetics to understand translation, particularly in TB pathogens. Dr. Agrawal's research, and overall technical approach, match closely with that of the Ramakrishnan Laboratory.
How does this research further public health?
Many currently used drugs/antibiotics target the ribosomes in bacterial and eukaryotic pathogens to block the functioning of their ribosomes. However, pathogens tend to outsmart drugs by developing resistance to existing drugs, hence there is an urgent need to identify new drug targets and accordingly design new drugs. A detailed understanding of how translation initiation works in pathogens and humans could lead to identification of new drug targets and more effective drug designs.
Top: Dr. Rajendra Agrawal introduces Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan. Middle: Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan gives Wadsworth Seminar. Bottom: Dr. Venki Ramakrishnan with students and postdocs.