Sid altman biography

Sidney Altman left us on April 5, , at age 82, after a long illness.

Cech for their work on the catalytic properties of RNA. Altman was born on May 7, , in Montreal , Quebec , Canada. Altman's father, born in Ukraine , had been a worker on a collective farm in the Soviet Union. He was sponsored to come to Canada as a farm worker, but later, as a husband and a father of two sons, he supported the family by running a small grocery store in Montreal.

As Altman reached adulthood, the family's financial situation had become secure enough that he was able to pursue a college education. While at MIT, he was a member of the ice hockey team. Due to personal concerns and the lack of opportunity for beginning graduate students to participate in laboratory work, he left the program without completing the degree.

Sidney Altman (May 7, – April 5, ) was a Canadian-American molecular biologist, who was the Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology and Chemistry at Yale University.

His project was a study of the effects of acridines on the replication of bacteriophage T4 DNA. He received his Ph. Altman was married to Ann M. They are the parents of two children, Daniel and Leah. After receiving his Ph. John D. Smith , as well as several postdoctoral colleagues, provided Altman with very good advice that enabled him to test his ideas.

Altman's career at Yale followed a standard academic pattern with promotion through the ranks until he became Professor in He was Chairman of his department from to and in became the Dean of Yale College for four years.