Pamela J. Bjorkman (APS, 2002)

Pamela J. Bjorkman is the David Baltimore Professor of Biology and Biological Engineering and a Merkin Professor at the California Institute of Technology. She received a B.A. in chemistry from the University of Oregon and a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Harvard University. Dr. Bjorkman has received the William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Fundamental Immunology from the Cancer Research Institute (shared with Don C. Wiley and Jack L. Strominger), the James R. Klinenberg Science Award from the Arthritis Foundation, the Gairdner Foundation International Award for achievements in medical science (shared with Don C. Wiley), and the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Award (shared with Jack L. Strominger and Hans-Georg Rammensee).
 

Oral History Highlights

How old were you when you learnt to read? Do you remember?

At the very beginning of 1st grade. It was like a night and day difference. Everything changed for me. That was the best thing that ever happened. My parents didn't emphasize intellectual pursuits that much, so they didn't teach me to read early. They weren't interested in that, and so I got to 1st grade and suddenly just started reading. I started reading chapter books almost immediately, and it completely changed my life.