Schekman, Randy Wayne (1948-…), an American biologist , won the 2013 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine . He shared the prize with fellow American biologist James E. Rothman and the German-born biologist Thomas C. Südhof. The scientists won for their discoveries on how substances are transported within and between living cells .
Schekman investigated small cavities within yeast cells called vesicles. These cavities hold and transport necessary materials within the cell. Schekman identified genes that control this transport system in yeast cells. Genes are hereditary units that guide the growth and function of living things. When these particular genes are mutated, the precise system of transport breaks down. The research has important application in medicine and biotechnology . Disturbances in the cell’s internal transport system, for example, are thought to play a role in diabetes and various neurological and immune system disorders.
Schekman was born on Dec. 30,1948, in St. Paul, Minnesota. He studied at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), graduating in 1970. He received his Ph.D. degree at Stanford University in 1974. In 1976, Schekman joined the faculty of the University of California at Berkeley in the department of biochemistry. He later joined the department of molecular and cell biology.
