| Thressa Stadtman | |
| Birth Name: | Thressa Campbell |
| Birth Date: | 12 February 1920[1] |
| Birth Place: | Sterling, New York |
| Death Place: | Derwood, Maryland |
| Fields: | Biochemistry |
| Workplaces: | National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute |
| Alma Mater: | |
| Thesis Title: | Studies on the methane-producing bacteria. |
| Thesis Year: | 1949 |
| Thesis Url: | http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/17994497 |
| Doctoral Advisor: | Horace Albert Barker |
| Known For: |
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| Spouse: | Earl Reece Stadtman |
Thressa Campbell Stadtman (February 12, 1920 – December 11, 2016) was an American biochemist, notable for her discovery of selenocysteine,[2] and her research on selenoproteins and bioenergetics. In addition she made significant advances in amino acid metabolism, enzymes dependent on vitamin B12, and the biochemistry of microbes.[3]
In 1920, she was born in Sterling, New York. In 1940, she graduated from Cornell University, with a B.S. in Microbiology, and in 1942, with a M.S. in Microbiology and Nutrition. In 1949, she graduated from University of California, Berkeley, with a Ph.D. in Microbial Biochemistry. Her thesis was titled "Studies on Methane Fermentations", and subsequently worked as a postdoc for Christian B. Anfinsen.
She was married to Earl Reece Stadtman whom she met when they were both graduate students at the University of California, Berkeley.[4] They were both hired by what was then the National Heart Institute in 1950 becoming the first husband-and-wife team at the National Institutes of Health.[4] They both oversaw their own biochemistry labs and collaborated closely. In 2005, they were both honored by the NIH with an exhibit titled "The Stadtman Way: A Tale of Two Biochemists at NIH." [5]
Over a 60-year period, starting in 1943, she published 212 peer-reviewed papers.[6]
Stadtman was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1981.[7]
Stadtman died in December 2016 at the age of 96.[8]