Giuseppe Attardi (September 14, 1923 – April 5, 2008) was an American

molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

origin, a professor at the

California Institute of Technology The California Institute of Technology (branded as Caltech) is a private research university in Pasadena, California, United States. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advancements and is among a small group of institutes ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial d ...

. He made pioneering studies on the human

mitochondria A mitochondrion () is an organelle found in the cells of most eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is us ...

l structure and function.Thomas H. Maugh II, "Giuseppe Attardi, 84; Caltech geneticist linked mitochondrial DNA and aging"
– ''Los Angeles Times (April 10, 2008)'' (Retrieved on May 24, 2008)
– ''Aarp Bulletin'' (Retrieved on May 24, 2008) Attardi was awarded two

Guggenheim Fellowships Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, in 1970 and 1986, for his work in molecular and cellular biology. He received the

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a ...

in 1998 for his contributions to medical science and was selected jointly with Douglas C. Wallace for the 2000 Passano Award "for their landmark contributions to the mitochondrial genome project and their development of innovative methods for studying mitochondrial genetics and human disease". He was a member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

from 1984.

References

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External links

Anne Chomyn, "Giuseppe Attardi", Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences (2015)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Attardi, Giuseppe 1923 births 2008 deaths People from the Metropolitan City of Palermo American geneticists University of Padua alumni Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences California Institute of Technology faculty