Roger D. Kornberg

Roger David Kornberg (born April 24, 1947) is an American biochemist renowned for his pioneering studies on the molecular mechanisms of eukaryotic transcription, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2006. As the Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor in Medicine in the Department of Structural Biology at Stanford University School of Medicine (on leave as of 2025), Kornberg has dedicated his career to elucidating how genetic information is copied from DNA to RNA, focusing particularly on the structure and function of RNA polymerase II. The son of Nobel laureate Arthur Kornberg, who received the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on DNA replication, Kornberg has built upon this familial legacy in biochemistry to advance our understanding of gene expression.

Kornberg earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry from Harvard University in 1967 and his PhD in chemical physics from Stanford University in 1972. Following his doctorate, he conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Cambridge in England and Harvard Medical School, honing his expertise in structural biology and molecular mechanisms. He joined the faculty at Stanford University in 1978, where he has remained, rising to prominence through innovative techniques such as using yeast models to map the transcription process and determining the atomic structure of RNA polymerase.

Kornberg grew up in a Jewish family in a household deeply immersed in scientific inquiry, where discussions of biochemistry and experiments were commonplace. His parents' professional lives as researchers at Washington University in St. Louis created an environment rich with intellectual stimulation, including exposure to laboratory work and scientific problem-solving from an early age.