:Audrey Stevens Niyogi

Audrey Stevens Niyogi was born on a farm near Leigh, Nebraska, the third child of Louise and John Stevens. She had an older brother Travis and a fraternal twin sister Ardyce.{{cite web |url= http://www.oakridger.com/article/20100303/NEWS/303039990 |first= |last=|title= Obituary of Audrey Stevens Niyogi in the OAKRIDGER newspaper}} Later the family moved to another farm about 10 miles from Wayne, Nebraska. When teenagers, Audrey and Ardyce boarded with a family in town so they could attend high school without the long commute.

File:AudreyOnFarm.jpgAudrey pursued the study of chemistry following in her older brother’s footsteps, who pursued a career in organic chemistry.{{cite web |url= http://knoxblogs.com/atomiccity/2010/03/04/audrey_stevens_niyogi_ornls_hi/ |title= Audrey Stevens Niyogi, ORNL's hidden jewel, untiring researcher, dies at age 77 |first= Frank |last= Munger |date= 4 March 2010 |accessdate= 16 June 2015 |archive-date= 18 September 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160918111500/http://knoxblogs.com/atomiccity/2010/03/04/audrey_stevens_niyogi_ornls_hi/ |url-status= dead }} After 2 years at the Nebraska State Teachers College (now Wayne State College), she earned her BS in chemistry from Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) in 1953, and her PhD in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University in 1958.

While a postdoctoral researcher at NIH, Audrey Stevens independently conducted original experiments demonstrating the synthesis of RNA in E. coli cells.{{cite journal|last1=Stevens|first1=Audrey|title= Incorporation of the adenine ribonucleotide into RNA by cell fractions from E. coli |journal= Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications |date=July 1960|volume=3|issue=1 |pages=92–96|doi=10.1016/0006-291X(60)90110-8

}} Thus, she is one of 4 researchers credited with the discovery of RNA polymerase. From there, Audrey became a professor at St. Louis University School of Medicine and then spent time at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, before settling at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where she spent the rest of her career.

In 1972, Stevens isolated a 10 kDa protein from E.coli infected with T4 bacteriophage which inhibited RNA polymerase.{{cite journal|last1=Stevens|first1=Audrey|title= New small polypeptides associated with DNA-dependent RNA polymerase of Escherichia coli after infection with bacteriophage T4. |journal= Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=69|issue=3|pages=603–607|date= 1972|doi=10.1073/pnas.69.3.603|pmid=4551978|bibcode=1972PNAS...69..603S|pmc=426516|doi-access=free}} This protein is an anti-sigma factor which has been named "Audrey Stevens' Inhibitor".{{cite journal|last1=Orsini|title= The asiA gene of bacteriophage T4 codes for the anti-sigma 70 protein. |journal= Journal of Bacteriology |volume= 175 |issue= 1 |pages= 85–93 |date= 1993 |pmid= 8416914 |pmc= 196100 |doi= 10.1128/jb.175.1.85-93.1993 }}

In 1998, Audrey Stevens Niyogi was elected to the National Academy of Sciences{{cite web |url= http://www.nasonline.org/member-directory/deceased-members/3005893.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/ |title= National Academy of Sciences Member Directory |first= |last= |website= |accessdate=16 June 2015}} in recognition of her many valuable contributions to the field of biochemistry.

Audrey was an early pioneer in balancing a scientific career with family life. In 1964, she married a fellow biochemist, Salil Kumar Niyogi. They remained married until their deaths in 2010. Together they had 2 sons, Krishna and Dev Niyogi, who also pursued careers in the biological sciences.{{cite web |url= http://niyogilab.berkeley.edu/research/ |title= Kris Niyogi's "Niyogi Lab" page |last=The Niyogi Lab|date= 20 January 2016 }}{{cite web |url= http://web.mst.edu/~niyogid/ |title= Dev Niyogi's MST page |first= Dev |last=Niyogi }} After her second son was born in 1967, in order to devote more time to parenting, Audrey had her position at ORNL officially changed to half time. Although she continued to work hours that were closer to full-time, this gave her the flexibility to be more available to her children. She continued conducting experiments and publishing in peer-reviewed scientific journals into her late 60's.

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• [http://knoxblogs.com/atomiccity/2010/03/04/audrey_stevens_niyogi_ornls_hi/ "Audrey Stevens Niyogi, ORNL’s hidden jewel, untiring researcher, dies at age 77" by Frank Munger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918111500/http://knoxblogs.com/atomiccity/2010/03/04/audrey_stevens_niyogi_ornls_hi/ |date=18 September 2016 }}

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Category:2010 deaths

Category:1932 births

Category:American women biochemists

Category:Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences

Category:20th-century American women scientists

Category:20th-century American chemists

Category:People from Colfax County, Nebraska

Category:People from Wayne, Nebraska

Category:21st-century American women

Category:Biologists from Nebraska

Category:Chemists from Nebraska