Kiyoshi Nagai (1949-2019) (Molecular Cell)

Kiyoshi Nagai has been discovering how proteins interact with RNA in ever-larger complexes for over three decades and, as some of his competitors have commented, he set the pace. His research culminated in visualization of the huge, dynamic spliceosome complex in the many different states it assumes while catalyzing pre-mRNA splicing. Each advance tested the limits of what could be accomplished with the available methodology. His death came at the summit of his achievements.