Press Releases

ATLANTA – October 7, 2013—James E. Rothman, one of  three scientists receiving the 2013 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology, is a former American Cancer Society research grantee, bringing the number of Nobel Laureates among the Society’s funded researchers to 47. Dr. Rothman, currently of Yale University, and two other scientists, Randy W. Schekman of the University of California, Berkeley, and Thomas C. Südhof, of Stanford University, were recognized for their work in revealing how cells transport molecules like hormones, enzymes, and neurotransmitters around and between cells.

While at Stanford University in 1982, Dr. Rothman received a five-year American Cancer Society research grant to study the biochemistry of the Golgi apparatus,  part of the machinery that enables cell parts called vesicles to attach to target specific membranes, delivering molecules to other parts of the cell or outside of the cell.

“We are extremely proud to see Dr. Rothman receive this honor, becoming the 47th American Cancer Society grantee to be awarded the Nobel Prize,” said John R. Seffrin, Ph.D., American Cancer Society chief executive officer. “This remarkable track record points to the strong role the American Cancer Society’s research grants program plays identifying and supporting research into the fundamentals of cancer and other diseases. We are confident that among the hundreds of early-career researchers across the nation who currently receive American Cancer Society funding are other scientists whose breakthrough ideas will one day be recognized with this high honor.”