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The Stadtman Way A Tale of Two Biochemists at NIH

Making Biochemists Par Excellence


1919

Earl Reece Stadtman at three.
Earl Reece Stadtman is born in Carrizozo, New Mexico.

1920

Thressa Campbell at three.
Thressa Campbell is born in Sterling, New York.

1936

Thressa in her high school orchestra.
Thressa in her high school orchestra. She is valedictorian of her class.

1937

Earl leads the school's debating team.
"Earl—You will someday, no doubt, be a great orator and statesman," says a high school classmate. Earl leads the school's debating team.

1943

Thressa and Earl are married.
Thressa and Earl are married.

1949

Thressa and Earl receive their Ph.D.s
Thressa and Earl receive their Ph.D.'s from the University of California, Berkeley

1950

Building 3, circa 1950.Building 3, ca. 1950.
Thressa and Earl begin to work in Building 3 as members of Christian Anfinsen's laboratory at the National Heart Institute.

1962

Earl is appointed Chief of the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Heart Institute.
Earl is appointed Chief of the Laboratory of Biochemistry at the National Heart Institute. Thressa, a member of the laboratory from the beginning, becomes a section head in 1974.

1967

The first anaerobic laboratory for biomedical research.
The first anaerobic laboratory for biomedical research is built in NIH's Building 3.

1976

Thressa discovers that selenocysteine is an essential component of a selenium-dependent enzyme.

1979

Earl receives a National Medal of Science from President Carter
Earl receives a National Medal of Science, the highest honor accorded to U.S. scientists and engineers by the Federal Government.

1981

The Stadtmans become the fourth married couple to be members of the National Academy of Sciences, with the election of Thressa in 1981. Earl was elected in 1969.

1983

Earl and his coworkers present a paper that demonstrates the relationship between protein oxidation and aging.

1985

Methanospaera stadtmaniae

scanning electron micrograph of Methanospaera stadtmaniae, round spheres that almost appear cleaved in half
Methanospaera stadtmaniae, a microorganism named after Thressa in honor of her contributions to the study of methane biosynthesis.

1988

The "Stadtman" azalea.

The Stadtman Azalea - Large light yellow globe of flowers
This new azalea is registered with the Royal Horticultural Society in Great Britain, which serves as the International Registration Authority for various kinds of plants, in honor of the Stadtmans' passion for gardening.

2000

Thressa receives Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Science.
L'Oréal and UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) present Thressa with the first Lifetime Achievement Award for Women in Science.

2001

Members of the Laboratory of Biochemistry.
Members of the Laboratory of Biochemistry.

From left to right : Geumsoo Kim, Tsyunobu Andoh, Shoshana Bar-Noy, Ephrem Tekle, Wesley Williams, Suofu Qin, Jesus Requena, Boon Chock, Hyung Soon Yim, Hammou Oubrahim, Rodney Levine, Jun Wang, Jeremy Selengut, Ann Ginsburg, Hanne Refsgaard, William Self, Thressa Stadtman, Gerard Lacourciere, Barbara Berlett, Nancy Wehr, Grzegorz Piszczek, Earl Stadtman, Mary Richardson, Moon Bin Yim, Merry Peters, Jinsook Jeong
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