Photos: Courtesy of the Lasker Foundation
LASKER AWARDEES: Clockwise from top left; Belding H. Scribner, James E.Darnell, James E. Rothman, Willem J. Kolff, Randy W. Shekman

Few things are as rewarding as the academic lifestyle, says James E. Darnell Jr., a Rockefeller University researcher whose discoveries span an era of molecular biology. "The only thing I'd rather do is be first baseman for the Yankees, but seriously, I don't know any pursuit that gives you the joy that basic science does."

Arguably, recognition is a part of that joy. The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation honored five scientists Friday, Sept. 27 at a ceremony in New York. Two scientists who elucidated the mechanisms of membrane trafficking, Randy W. Schekman and James E. Rothman, took home the Lasker Award for basic medical research. Willem J. Kolff and Belding H. Scribner, innovators behind the creation and application of kidney...

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