Background
Söll, Dieter was born on April 19, 1935 in Stuttgart, Germany.
Söll, Dieter was born on April 19, 1935 in Stuttgart, Germany.
He earned his Bachelor of Surgery and Doctor of Philosophy from Stuttgart University in 1962 and did his postdoctoral work at University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1962-1965 with Har Gobind Khorana.
He was briefly an assistant professor at University of Wisconsin before joining the Yale faculty in 1967 and has been there since. He was named a Sterling Professor in 2006. As a postdoc with Jack Strominger, he identified tRNAs that were involved in peptidoglycan formation leading to the discovery of novel aminoacyl-tRNA functions.
He later sequenced the selenocysteine tRNA. His research is centered on the formation of aminoacyl-tRNA and tRNA synthetases.
In addition to his academic work, he has been recognized as a leader in creating research opportunities for minority students notably by spearheading a program to bring students from Tougaloo College to Yale University for summer research in the early 1970s.
National Academy of Sciences. American Academy of Arts and Sciences.