Ada Yonath was born in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1939. She graduated from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem with a bachelor's degree in chemistry, a master's degree in biochemistry. She holds Ph.D. in X-Ray crystallography from the Weizmann Institute of Science.

Her lifelong study of protein biosynthesis and the three-dimensional structure of the ribosome led to a detailed understanding of the actions of some of the most widely prescribed antibiotics. Her findings may not only aid in the development of more efficient antibacterial drugs, but could give scientists new weapons in the fight against antibiotic resistant bacteria – a problem that has been called one of the most pressing medical challenges of the 21st century.

In 2009 Ada Yonath was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her studies of the structure and function of the ribosome.