She wouldn't have said this two years ago, but Ada Yonath, who won a 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry, is starting to feel more optimistic about antibiotics.

"Until last year or so, my lectures about antibiotics were very pessimistic," she told listeners at the University of Delaware's Edward G. Jefferson Lecture on April 20. "Now I have something a bit more optimistic."

Yonath, who was born in Jerusalem, is the Martin S. and Helen Kimmel Professor of Structural Biology at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. She was the first Israeli female to win a Nobel Prize, which she won for her studies in the structure and function of the ribosome -- the protein factory in every cell that turns genetic coding into the proteins needed for all of life.

The long fight between antibiotics and bacteria has neared Armageddon dimensions in many researchers' estimation, as "super bugs" emerge that scoff at what was once a fearsome arsenal in a doctor's toolbox.

It was the science that made Yonath pessimistic about this struggle, as enemy bacteria found ways to circumvent a healthy cell's defenses and antibiotic reinforcements.

And it is new research that now is tipping the scales toward optimism, she says. As a chemist and structural biologist, she knows enough about this that even if you have no clue about antibiotics, bacteria or the secret life of cells, you can walk around with a bit more spring in your step, too.

A research breakthrough

Her breakthrough science came in 1980, after years of effort and dismissal by many who saw her mission as impossible. She wanted to understand how cells took their genetic instructions and translated them into proteins. She believed she could do what no one had done before -- turn ribosomes into crystallized structures to make it possible to study their structures and functions.

Though she was mocked by distinguished scientists and dismissed as a "village fool" by some, things changed dramatically after she and her team succeeded and others were able to replicate her results. Research doors flew open then.

And much now is known about ribosomal function that was impossible before Yonath's discovery. She developed a new process -- cryo bio-crystallography -- that made it possible to get higher resolution images with minimal damage to the ribosome, and her team went on to identify important functional areas and show how specific antibiotics affected bacterial ribosome function.

She shared the 2009 Nobel Prize in chemistry with two other scientists -- Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz  -- who built on her work, analyzing the two subunits of the ribosome.

About half of the world's useful antibiotics are directed at disrupting the work of bacterial ribosomes. Shut them down and you pinch off the production of proteins -- a death sentence for pathogens. But bacterial cells have developed defenses and the threat of newly incurable disease is real. As scientists grow in their understanding of ribosomal function, new and increasingly precise possibilities emerge, new targets for antibiotic therapies.

That research is where she finds cause for greater optimism.

"The bacteria don't understand it yet," she said.

Meeting of the minds

During her daylong visit to UD, Yonath met with professors and students to hear about their work and exchange ideas.

Ramona Neunuebel, assistant professor of biological sciences, was among those who met with her. In a morning meeting, Neunuebel, Jason Gleghorn, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, and two students from the Chemistry/Biology Interface program -- Allyson Dang and Rebecca Noll -- met with Yonath.

"I spoke with Dr. Yonath about my group’s work on Legionella pneumophila, a bacterial pathogen that infects human lung cells and causes a severe pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease," Neunuebel said. "My graduate student, Rebecca Noll, also talked about some of her recent discoveries on how Legionella thrives within human cells by hijacking cellular transport pathways.

"A concern that I shared with Dr. Yonath is that although Legionella is susceptible to antibiotic treatment, current antibiotics often fail to treat Legionnaires’ disease. People with a weakened immune system, such as the elderly, or those with other chronic diseases are particularly at risk. We discussed an exciting idea about developing new antibiotics that would disrupt the pathogen’s ability to interface with human cells. Getting the perspective of a scientist of the highest caliber on this idea was very valuable to me."

Now 77, Yonath has many stories to draw upon in her public addresses and brings good humor to the intricate science she discusses.

Kylie Ranck, a junior studying exercise science, liked that.

"She made it easier to understand for everyone and she was very funny," Ranck said. "She was very relatable."

Yonath lingered after the lecture to speak with those in attendance and Abhishek Tippabhatla, a high school student at the Charter School of Wilmington, took the opportunity to get a photograph with her.

"I am trying to look for research opportunities," he said. "And I found this lecture very interesting."

Neunuebel would add "inspiring" to that review.

"It was a rare treat to hear her relate stories about her triumphant moments as well as the challenges she faced along her scientific career," Neunuebel said. "What stood out the most to me was her fearless pursuit of scientific ideas, her sharp intellect and her passion for supporting women in science. She was truly inspirational."

Yonath earned a bachelor's in chemistry at Hebrew University in Jerusalem and a master's in biochemistry at the same university. She earned a doctorate in X-ray crystallography at the Weizmann Institute in Israel, where she directs the Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Assemblies.

The Edward G. Jefferson Lecture

The Edward G. Jefferson Lecture, endowed by a gift from the Unidel Foundation, is named in honor of the late chairman and chief executive officer of the DuPont Co., UD trustee emeritus and UD benefactor. It highlights distinguished work in the life sciences.