Randy Schekman is a Nobel Prize-winning cell biologist who studies the molecular processes by which cells assemble and regulate the passage of vesicles — small, sac-like structures that transport molecules within and between cells. He has shown the similarity between the secretory pathways of yeast and human cells, and is presently working to apply his research to studies on the genetic diseases of protein transport.

Randy is also a strong proponent of academic journal publishing reform and the open access movement. He is the Editor-in-Chief of the open access, biomedical and life sciences journal eLife. He has also served as the Editor-in-Chief of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.

Randy’s work has attracted many accolades, including election as a Member of the National Academy of Sciences in 1992, the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 2002 and, most notably, the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, which he shared with James Rothman and Thomas Südhof.