Randy Schekman

Randy Wayne Schekman (born December 30, 1948) is an American cell biologist and professor at the University of California, Berkeley. He was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with James Rothman and Thomas C. Südhof for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells. Schekman's work has been instrumental in understanding the process by which proteins and other materials are transported within cells.

Early Life and Education

Randy Schekman was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and grew up in a family with a keen interest in science. He pursued his undergraduate degree in molecular biology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he developed an interest in cell biology and genetics. After completing his B.A. in 1971, Schekman went on to earn his Ph.D. in 1975 from Stanford University, where he studied under the guidance of Arthur Kornberg, a Nobel Laureate known for his work on DNA replication.

Career and Research

After completing his Ph.D., Schekman joined the faculty at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has spent his entire academic career. His research has focused on the genetics and biochemistry of cell membrane assembly and secretion. In the late 1970s, Schekman and his team discovered a set of genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (baker's yeast) that were required for the secretion of proteins from cells. This groundbreaking work led to the identification of a complex process involving vesicles—small, membrane-enclosed sacs that transport proteins and other molecules from one part of a cell to another.

Schekman's research has elucidated how vesicles are formed, how they are directed to their correct destinations within the cell, and how they fuse with their target membranes to release their cargo. This work has had profound implications for understanding various physiological processes, including how insulin is secreted from the pancreas and how neurotransmitters are released at synapses.

Awards and Honors

In addition to the Nobel Prize, Schekman has received numerous other awards and honors for his contributions to cell biology and genetics, including the Gairdner Foundation International Award, the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research, and election to the National Academy of Sciences. He is also a foreign member of the Royal Society.

Editorial Work and Advocacy

Beyond his research, Schekman has been an outspoken advocate for open access publishing in science. He has served as the editor of several prestigious journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and eLife, a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal for the biomedical and life sciences. Schekman has criticized the practices of high-profile journals like Nature, Science, and Cell for what he sees as their restrictive access policies and their focus on sensationalism over scientific merit.

Personal Life

Randy Schekman lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his family. He is known for his dedication to both teaching and research, and for his efforts to improve the accessibility and integrity of scientific publishing.