Steven Block is the Stanford W. Ascherman, M.D., Professor and Professor of Applied Physics and of Biology, Emeritus, at Stanford University, where he has been a faculty member since 1999. Prior to joining Stanford, he served on the faculties of the Rowland Institute, Harvard University, and Princeton University. His academic background includes a BA in Physics from Oxford University (1974), an MA in Physics from Oxford University (1978), an MA in Biology from the University of Colorado (1982), and a PhD in Biology from the California Institute of Technology (1983). Block's research resides at the interface of Physics and Biology, focusing on single-molecule biophysics. He is renowned as a founder of this field and for pioneering the use of optical tweezers—laser-based optical traps—to measure the nanoscale movements and forces generated by individual biomolecules.

In his laboratory, Block employs advanced techniques such as optical trapping and single-molecule fluorescence to investigate biomolecular motors like kinesin and RNA polymerase, as well as nucleic acid folding pathways in riboswitches and ribozymes. Notable publications include "Direct observation of base-pair stepping by RNA polymerase" in Nature (2005), "Direct measurement of the full, sequence-dependent folding landscape of a nucleic acid" in Science (2006), "Direct observation of hierarchical folding in single riboswitch aptamers" in Science (2008), "Real-time observation of the initiation of RNA polymerase II transcription" in Nature (2015), and "Self-cleavage of the glmS ribozyme core is controlled by a fragile folding element" in PNAS (2018). He co-holds U.S. Patent 7,556,922 for "Motion Resolved Molecular Sequencing" (2009). Block's profound impact on the field is evidenced by his election to the National Academy of Sciences (2007), the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2000), and receipt of the Max Delbrück Prize in Biological Physics from the American Physical Society (2008), the Outstanding Investigator Award in Single Molecule Biophysics from the Biophysical Society (2008), and the 2025 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science. Additional honors include the S.W. Ascherman Chair (2006), presidency of the Biophysical Society (2005-2006), and fellowships in the American Physical Society (2012), AAAS (2006), and Biophysical Society. His contributions have revolutionized the study of life's nanoscale machinery.

Professional Email: sblock@stanford.edu