Judith Lesnaw


Judith Lesnaw is an American virologist, photographer, and inductee of the University of Kentucky's Hall of Fame. She was the first woman hired into Biology, the first woman to be tenured, and the first molecular biologist at the University of Kentucky.

Early life and education

Lesnaw was born in Chicago, Illinois and received her Associate of Arts from Wright Jr. College. She then went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and a doctorate in Biology with a focus in Virology, and postdoctoral studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.

Research and career

Lesnaw began working and researching at the University of Kentucky in 1974, where she became known as the "Virus Master" by her students. She particularly focused on viral proteins in order to develop gene therapy agents.
She was also a member of the NIH Medical Biochemistry Study Section and co-program leader in the Markey Cancer Center at the University of Kentucky.

Personal life

After retiring in 2010, Lesnaw moved to Wilmington, Delaware to focus on photography, early music, and poetry. She had 11 photographs that qualified for the 2017 Projected Image-of-the-Year Awards as presented by the Delaware Photographic Society.