Randy Schekman

Randy Schekman is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator and Professor affiliated with the Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. His research focuses on understanding membrane assembly and vesicular trafficking in eukaryotic cells, with a particular emphasis on unconventional protein secretion mechanisms and exosome biology.

His work spans studies on COPII vesicle formation, autophagosome biogenesis, and α-synuclein secretion in Parkinson’s disease. He has pioneered methods to isolate and characterize extracellular vesicles (EVs), revealing their roles in intercellular communication and disease progression. Key projects include exploring how extracellular vesicles mediate cargo delivery between cells and how membrane repair mechanisms influence exosome secretion.

Recent findings include the discovery of syncytin-mediated membrane tubules enabling intercellular protein transfer and the role of palmitoylated DNAJC5 in α-synuclein secretion. Schekman’s lab also investigates EVs’ ability to promote stem cell differentiation via cyclin D1 and the regulatory role of YBX1 in miRNA sorting into exosomes.

• Research Areas: Membrane trafficking, unconventional secretion, exosome biology, neurodegenerative diseases
• Key Techniques: Cell-free systems, live-cell imaging, electron microscopy