MIT grad has Nobel connection

In the summer of 2008, Tamara Litwin embarked on a three-month internship in Israel with Ada Yonath, who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry last week. The award recognizes Professor Yonath's research on protein "factories" in cells.

Organized by the MIT-Israel Program, Litwin's internship project at the Weizmann Institute involved X-ray crystallography of antibiotic-resistant ribosomes. "I had a fantastic experience in Israel this summer, doing world-class science and experiencing a different culture at the same time," she says. 

MIT-Israel is one of 10 country programs in the MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives, or MISTI. MISTI matches more than 400 MIT students each year with paid professional internships and research projects around the world, and awards funding to MIT faculty for international projects and collaboration.