James Rothman
Encyclopedia
James E. Rothman is the Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Yale University
and Chairman of the Department of Cell Biology at Yale University Medical School. He has received many honors, including the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
from Columbia University and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
both in 2002 and the King Faisal Award. Dr. Rothman received his B.A. at Yale University
and his Ph.D. at Harvard.
Dr. Rothman began his career in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University
in 1978. He was at Princeton University
from 1988 to 1991, before coming to New York to found the Department of Cellular Biochemistry and Biophysics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
, where he also served as vice chairman of Sloan-Kettering Institute. Dr. Rothman is widely credited as a key force in the rise to pre-eminence of science at Sloan-Kettering. In 2003 he left Sloan-Kettering to become a professor of physiology at Columbia University
's College of Physicians and Surgeons
and head of Columbia's Center for Chemical Biology. Dr. Rothman is a member of the National Academy of Sciences
and its Institute of Medicine
.
Dr. Rothman’s award-winning research details how vesicles—tiny sac-like structures that transport hormones, growth factors, and other molecules within cells—know how to reach their correct destination and where and when to release their contents. This cellular trafficking underlies many critical physiological functions, including the propagation of the cell itself in division, communication between nerve cells in the brain, secretion of insulin and other hormones in the body, and nutrient uptake. Defects in this process lead to a wide variety of conditions, including diabetes and infectious diseases such as botulism.
In 1995, Dr. Rothman joined the Amersham PLC scientific advisory board. When Amersham was acquired by GE Healthcare in 2003, Dr. Rothman was appointed as the Chief Science Advisor to GE Healthcare.
Dr. Rothman will participate in the development of Yale's new West Campus.
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and Chairman of the Department of Cell Biology at Yale University Medical School. He has received many honors, including the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize for Biology or Biochemistry is an annual prize awarded by Columbia University to a researcher or group of researchers that have made an outstanding contribution in basic research in the fields of biology or biochemistry....
from Columbia University and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for the understanding, diagnosis, prevention, treatment, and cure of disease...
both in 2002 and the King Faisal Award. Dr. Rothman received his B.A. at Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
and his Ph.D. at Harvard.
Dr. Rothman began his career in the Department of Biochemistry at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1978. He was at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
from 1988 to 1991, before coming to New York to found the Department of Cellular Biochemistry and Biophysics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Memorial Sloan–Kettering Cancer Center is a cancer treatment and research institution founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital...
, where he also served as vice chairman of Sloan-Kettering Institute. Dr. Rothman is widely credited as a key force in the rise to pre-eminence of science at Sloan-Kettering. In 2003 he left Sloan-Kettering to become a professor of physiology at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
's College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, often known as P&S, is a graduate school of Columbia University that is located on the health sciences campus in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan...
and head of Columbia's Center for Chemical Biology. Dr. Rothman is a member of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
and its Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
.
Dr. Rothman’s award-winning research details how vesicles—tiny sac-like structures that transport hormones, growth factors, and other molecules within cells—know how to reach their correct destination and where and when to release their contents. This cellular trafficking underlies many critical physiological functions, including the propagation of the cell itself in division, communication between nerve cells in the brain, secretion of insulin and other hormones in the body, and nutrient uptake. Defects in this process lead to a wide variety of conditions, including diabetes and infectious diseases such as botulism.
In 1995, Dr. Rothman joined the Amersham PLC scientific advisory board. When Amersham was acquired by GE Healthcare in 2003, Dr. Rothman was appointed as the Chief Science Advisor to GE Healthcare.
Dr. Rothman will participate in the development of Yale's new West Campus.
External links
- Interview with James Rothman by Lasker Laureate and Nobelist Günter BlobelGünter Blobel-Biography:Blobel was born in Waltersdorf in the Prussian Province of Lower Silesia. In January 1945 his family fled from native Silesia from the advancing Red Army. On their way to the West they passed through the beautiful old city of Dresden, which left deep impressions in the young boy...
of Rockefeller University - Yale press release September 12, 2008
- Yale press release June 5, 2008