Schekman, Randy W.

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Randy W. Schekman, in full Randy Wayne Schekman, (born December 30, 1948, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.), American biochemist and cell biologist who contributed to the discovery of the genetic basis of vesicle transport in cells. Bubblelike vesicles transport molecules such as enzymes, hormones, and neurotransmitters within cells, carrying their cargo to specific destinations in a highly orchestrated process. When the vesicle transport system malfunctions, disease results; many such diseases are associated with genetic defects. For his insight into the genetic mechanisms underlying vesicle transport, Schekman was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with American biochemist and cell biologist James E. Rothman and German American biochemist Thomas C. Südhof.

After completing a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, Schekman attended Stanford University, where he performed his graduate research in the laboratory of American biochemist and physician Arthur Kornberg. Schekman earned a doctorate in biochemistry in 1974. After completing his postdoctoral studies, he became an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where he later received a professorship in molecular and cell biology.

At Berkeley, Schekman began investigating networks of intracellular membranes associated with the vesicle transport of proteins in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. With the aid of others in his laboratory, he screened yeast for mutations that blocked the secretion of certain enzymes from cells. The work led to the discovery of membrane fusion regulator proteins encoded by SEC genes. The regulator encoded by SEC1 was later found to interact with a protein known as SNAP, which had been discovered by Rothman to have important functions in vesicle membrane trafficking. In subsequent work Schekman and colleagues discovered that nearly two dozen genes play a role in vesicle transport. They characterized the function of each gene’s protein and elucidated the sequence in which the proteins act to effect transport. Schekman’s work also provided insight into mechanisms of vesicle budding and protein transport from the endoplasmic reticulum.

Schekman was the recipient of the 1996 Gairdner Foundation International Award (with Rothman) and the 2002 Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award (with Rothman). He was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1992 and in 2000 became a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.