1994
Former Scientific Director Rodbell awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine
In 1994, Martin Rodbell, Ph.D., an NIEHS scientist emeritus and former scientific director, was bestowed with the highest honor a scientist can receive, the Nobel Prize in Medicine. Pioneering studies by Rodbell and his colleagues at the NIH, laid the ground work for the discovery of “G-proteins” and their role in signal transduction, which regulates the human body's cellular “communication” activities. This discovery informed us about hormone function. It also played a role in demonstrating how light and odors are perceived, how signals travel between neurons in the brain, and how some diseases affect the function of our vital organs.
Birnbaumer L, Pohl SL, Rodbell M. 1971. The glucagon-sensitive adenyl cyclase system in plasma membranes of rat liver. II. Comparison between glucagon- and fluoride-stimulated activities. J Biol Chem 246(6):1857-1860. [Full Text]
Cooper DM, Schlegel W, Lin MC, Rodbell M. 1979. The fat cell adenylate cyclase system. Characterization and manipulation of its bimodal regulation by GTP. J Biol Chem 254(18):8927-8931. [Full Text]
Londos C, Salomon Y, Lin MC, Harwood JP, Schramm M, Wolff J, Rodbell M. 1974. 5'-Guanylylimidodiphosphate, a potent activator of adenylate cyclase systems in eukaryotic cells. I. Properties. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 71(8):3087-3090. [Abstract] [PDF]
Pohl SL, Birnbaumer L, Rodbell M. 1971. The glucagon-sensitive adenyl cyclase system in plasma membranes of rat liver. I. Properties. J Biol Chem 246(6):1849-1856. [Full Text]
Rodbell M, Krans HM, Pohl SL, Birnbaumer L. 1971. The glucagon-sensitive adenyl cyclase system in plasma membranes of rat liver. IV. Effects of guanylnucleotides on binding of 125I-glucagon. J Biol Chem 246(6):1872-1876. [Full Text]
Rodbell M, Birnbaumer L, Pohl SL, Krans HM. 1971. The glucagon-sensitive adenyl cyclase system in plasma membranes of rat liver. V. An obligatory role of guanylnucleotides in glucagon action. J Biol Chem 246(6):1877-1882. [Full Text]
Rodbell M, Krans HM, Pohl SL, Birnbaumer L. 1971. The glucagon-sensitive adenyl cyclase system in plasma membranes of rat liver. 3. Binding of glucagon: method of assay and specificity. J Biol Chem 246(6):1861-1871. [Full Text]
Yamamura H, Lad PM, Rodbell M. 1977. GTP stimulates and inhibits adenylate cyclase in fat cell membranes through distinct regulatory processes. J Biol Chem 252(22):7964-7966. [Abstract] [Full Text]
Rodbell M. 1980. The role of hormone receptors and GTP-regulatory proteins in membrane transduction. Nature 284(5751):17-22. [Abstract]