"At that time, there were no women professors in the natural sciences at any major university," Steitz says. "Consequently, I never envisioned myself being where I am today: I never thought I would teach undergraduates. I never thought I would mentor graduate students. I never thought I would be on the faculty of a prominent university. I really thought I would be a research associate in someone's lab—a man's, of course."

But Steitz persevered, and now holds high ranks in the world of molecular biology. She is Sterling Professor of Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry at Yale University and has served as chair of her department and as scientific director of the Jane Coffin Childs Fund for Medical Research. Moreover, Steitz has earned an international reputation for her research on RNA—the chemical that delivers DNA's genetic messages and performs an impressive repertoire of cellular functions. "Joan is looked up to as one who has contributed to a cohesive view of RNA science," says Thomas R. Cech, HHMI president and a Nobel laureate for his work on catalytic RNA. "When I became interested in RNA in the early 1980s, she was already a star. Her work continues to evolve and remains at the forefront."

In the early years, Steitz's decisions clearly reflected her doubts. Thinking her chances of autonomy in a laboratory setting were minimal, she set her sights on becoming an M.D. She was accepted to Harvard Medical School, but summer research in the laboratory of Joseph Gall at the University of Minnesota made her change her mind. Instead, in the fall of 1963 she became the only woman in a class of 10 incoming students in a new program in biochemistry and molecular biology at Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. James D. Watson—fresh from winning his Nobel Prize for solving the structure of DNA—became her mentor, and the door to science opened a crack.

These days, it's hard to imagine Steitz running from anything.

Steitz soon discovered, however, that the door could just as easily swing shut. During her first year at Harvard, she approached a male scientist she will only identify as "famous, well-respected, and now deceased." Steitz wanted to work with him for her graduate thesis. But Dr. Famous had other ideas, namely that men belonged in the lab and women at home with those six kids and the station wagon. Steitz recalls running from the room and then dissolving into tears, but she now looks back on the event as one of the best things that ever happened to her: She completed her thesis with Watson, and their professional relationship strengthened into a lifetime bond.

These days, it's hard to imagine Steitz running from anything. (She still counts herself as a bit of a shrinking violet, but only because she dislikes being in the spotlight; despite her status, she rarely grants media interviews and is an intensely private person.) "Joan is extremely competitive in her field, as are all good scientists," says molecular biologist Susan J. Baserga, who was a postdoc in Steitz's lab from 1988 to 1993 and is now a faculty colleague at Yale. "She is not afraid to offend, but her manner is such that she gets what needs to get done in a way that usually doesn't offend."

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