Dr. Dontsova is professor of chemistry, chemistry of natural compounds, and nucleoprotein chemistry at Moscow Lomonosov State University. She received her Ph.D. in 1991 and her D.Sc. in 1997, both in molecular biology, from Moscow Lomonosov State University. She did postdoctoral research at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, Germany. In 1998 she received the Stipend of the President of the Russian Federation and was named a Soros Professor in 2001. Dr. Dontsova became a full professor at Moscow Lomonosov State University in 1998 and head of her laboratory in 2002. Dr. Dontsova was elected corresponding member of the Russian Academy of Sciences in 2006. This is her second HHMI International Research Scholar award.
RESEARCH ABSTRACT SUMMARY:
During the elongation cycle, the functional centers of the ribosome need to communicate with each other to provide the sequential steps of the elongation cycle. Combining various biochemical approaches and analysis of the ribosome structure, Dr. Dontsova’s studies revealed the potential components of signal transmission pathways. The dynamics of the ribosome conformation during the elongation cycle is thus the main interest of Dr. Dontsova’s laboratory.
