Joachim Frank (born September 12, 1940) is a German-born American scientist working in the field of biophysics. He is a long-time faculty member at Columbia University. Frank is widely recognized for pioneering methods in single-particle cryo-electron microscopy, and for contributions to the determination and interpretation of the structure and function of the cellular ribosome.
Career overview
Trained originally in the physical sciences, Frank applied quantitative image-processing and statistical methods to electron microscopy. Over several decades he developed computational approaches that made it possible to extract high-resolution structural information from images of individual macromolecular particles embedded in vitreous ice. Those advances helped transform cryo-electron microscopy into a mainstream technique for structural biology.
Scientific contributions
- Led the development and refinement of single-particle analysis methods that align and average many two-dimensional projections to reconstruct three-dimensional structures.
- Applied these techniques to study the architecture and dynamics of ribosomes from both bacterial and eukaryotic sources, improving understanding of how they synthesize proteins.
- Integrated image-processing theory with practical workflows used by many laboratories worldwide, influencing software and experimental protocols in cryo-EM.
Awards
In 2017 Frank was one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, an honor he shared with Jacques Dubochet and Richard Henderson for developments in cryo-electron microscopy that have enabled high-resolution structure determination of biomolecules.