James Rothman, Randy Schekman and Thomas Südhof have been awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on how the cell organizes its transport system.

Disturbances in the control system for the transport and delivery of cellular molecules contribute to conditions such as neurological diseases, diabetes, and immunological disorders. The three US researchers received the award for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells.

Rothman is currently Professor and Chairman in the Department of Cell Biology.  Schekman  is currently Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell biology at the University of California at Berkeley. Südhof is Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University.



Read more on them at the Nobel Prize announcement page:

The papers linked to their award:

Novick P, Schekman R: Secretion and cell-surface growth are blocked in a temperature-sensitive mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 1979; 76:1858-1862.

Balch WE, Dunphy WG, Braell WA, Rothman JE: Reconstitution of the transport of protein between successive compartments of the Golgi measured by the coupled incorporation of N-acetylglucosamine. Cell 1984; 39:405-416.

Kaiser CA, Schekman R: Distinct sets of SEC genes govern transport vesicle formation and fusion early in the secretory pathway. Cell 1990; 61:723-733.

Perin MS, Fried VA, Mignery GA, Jahn R, Südhof TC: Phospholipid binding by a synaptic vesicle protein homologous to the regulatory region of protein kinase C. Nature 1990; 345:260-263.

Sollner T, Whiteheart W, Brunner M, Erdjument-Bromage H, Geromanos S, Tempst P, Rothman JE: SNAP receptor implicated in vesicle targeting and fusion. Nature 1993;
362:318-324.

Hata Y, Slaughter CA, Südhof TC: Synaptic vesicle fusion complex contains unc-18 homologue bound to syntaxin. Nature 1993; 366:347-351.