Karin Musier-Forsyth


Karin Musier-Forsyth, an American biochemist, is an Ohio Eminent Scholar on the faculty of the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Ohio Sate University. Musier-Forsyth's research involves biochemical, biophysical and cell-based approaches to understand the interactions of proteins and RNAs involved in protein synthesis and viral replication, especially in HIV.

Personal History & Education

Musier-Forsyth was born in 1962 in Dover, NJ to Horst and Maria Musier, who immigrated to the United States from Germany in the 1950s. Her family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida in 1967 and she grew up on the Isle of Capri in Treasure Island, Florida. Her extracurricular activities throughout elementary school, high school, and college included piano, dance, and gymnastics. She attended Eckerd College in St. Petersburg Florida and enjoyed a liberal arts education, study abroad opportunities in London, England and Vienna, Austria, and research experiences at Georgia Institute of Technology, as well as at Eckerd. She graduated in 1984 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. In 1984, Musier-Forsyth enrolled in graduate school at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY in the Department of Chemistry. Gordon G. Hammes was her mentor and she received her Ph.D. in 1989. Musier-Forsyth met her husband, Craig Forsyth, in graduate school and they were married in Ithaca, NY in 1988. They have one son, Nicholas, born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 2003..

Professional history

From 1989-92, Musier -Forsyth did research in the laboratory of Paul Schimmel at MIT as an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow. She was hired as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Minnesota in 1993, where she was promoted to Associate Professor in 1998 and full Professor in 2003. In 2007 she was named an Ohio Eminent Scholar and became a Professor in the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry at Ohio Sate University.

Awards and Honors

Musier-Forsyth has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, and is known for her work on elucidating key protein:nucleic interactions involved in viral replication and in the translation of the genetic code. Her work has provided key insights into how the aminoacyl tRNA synthetases, the large family of enzymes involved in protein synthesis, attach the correct amino acids to tRNAs and contribute to the fidelity of protein translation. Her work has also provided fundamental insights into how retroviral replication involves host amino acyl tRNA synthetases and tRNAs. This work highlights potential areas for therapeutic intervention in treating or preventing viral infections.
A world renowned biochemist, Musier-Forsyth is recognized not only for her science expertise but as an educator and mentor. She has lectured at a wide variety of universities around the world and is active in numerous scientific societies. She is a peer reviewer for scientific publications and government granting organizations. Her activities include the following: