James Spudich, Stanford professor of biochemistry, will receive this year’s Wiley Prize in Biomedical Science, the Wiley Foundation announced Tuesday.

 

Spudich won the award along with Columbia professor Michael Sheetz and University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) professor Ronald Vale for their work on “explaining how cargo is moved by molecular motors along two different systems of tracks within cells,” said Günter Blobel, chairman of the Wiley Prize awards jury, in a press release.

 

The award, which will be presented during a ceremony on April 6, in New York City, includes a $35,000 prize. According to the Wiley Foundation website, a five-member jury, including two Nobel Prize winners, selected the recipients.

 

“The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences is intended to recognize breakthrough research in pure or applied life science research that is distinguished by its excellence, originality and impact on our understanding of biological systems and processes,” the website states. “The award may recognize a specific contribution or series of contributions that demonstrate the nominee’s significant leadership in the development of research concepts or their clinical application.”

 

Last year, recipients Lily Jan and Yuh Nung Jan of UCSF won for identifying the founding member of potassium ion channels that control the nerve cell activity of animals.

 

— Kurt Chirbas