Neuroscientist, Thomas Südhof, MD, professor of molecular and cellular physiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine. Südhof graduated from the Hannover Waldorf School in Germany in 1975. Below is an excerpt from the Stanford University Report announcing his award. Or you can read the full article at its source.
"Neuroscientist Thomas Südhof, MD, professor of molecular and cellular physiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, won the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. He shared the prize with James Rothman, PhD, a former Stanford professor of biochemistry, and Randy Schekman, PhD, who earned his doctorate at Stanford under the late Arthur Kornberg, MD, another winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
The three were awarded the prize "for their discoveries of machinery regulating vesicle traffic, a major transport system in our cells."
"I'm absolutely surprised," said Südhof, 57, who was in the remote town of Baeza in Spain to attend a conference and give a lecture. "Every scientist dreams of this. I didn't realize there was chance I would be awarded the prize. I am stunned and really happy to share the prize with James Rothman and Randy Schekman."
Südhof noted that, although he hasn't directly worked with either of the other winners, their work was complementary and he called the Nobel committee "ingenious" in pairing the three of them. The researchers will share a prize that totals roughly $1.2 million, with about $413,600 going to each.
"Tom Südhof has done brilliant work that lays a molecular basis for neuroscience and brain chemistry," said Roger Kornberg, PhD, Stanford's Mrs. George A. Winzer Professor in Medicine. Kornberg was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2006. He is the son of Arthur Kornberg, in whose lab Schekman received his doctorate...."
"Thomas Südhof is a consummate citizen of science. His unrelenting curiosity, his collaborative spirit, his drive to ascertain the minute details of cellular workings, and his skill to carefully uncover these truths — taken together it's truly awe-inspiring.
- Lloyd Minor, MD, Dean of the School of Medicine, Stanford University
"We've made so many major advances during the past 50 years in this field, but there's still much more to learn," said Südhof, who in a 2010 interview with The Lancet credited his bassoon instructor as his most influential teacher for helping him to learn the discipline to practice for hours on end. "Understanding how the brain works is one of the most fundamental problems in neuroscience."
Photo Credit: Steve Fisch
Read the full article at its source in Stanford News