Top Ten Facts About this 2013 Nobel Prize Winner- Thomas C. Südhof

Well, here’s the third of our proud winners of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Let me introduce him to you by giving you some interesting facts about his life.

#1. He’s not an American!

Thomas Sudhof was born in Gottingen, Germany on December 22, 1955.

#2. But he now lives in California

Thomas Sudhof moved to Texas in 1983, where he began postdoctorial training at the Universuty of Texas Health Science Center, in Dallas. He is currently working at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Ca.

#3. He is very well known (in the science world)

Thomas C. Südhof is a biochemist well known for his study of synaptic transmission. Since 1986, his research has elucidated many major proteins mediating presynaptic functions.

 

#4. He has won quite a few other awards

Fourteen to be exact. Among them the Lasker Award, Met Life Award, Bernhard Katz Award and Kavli Prize to name a few.

#5. He wasn’t home when the call came!

His wife, Lu answered the phone when the call came from Sweden. Thomas was in Baeza, Spain. Please listen to his reaction in the video below.

 

#6. Thomas has a very smart wife!

Lu Chen, an associate professor of neurosurgery at Stanford, is his wife.

#7. He is also working on a great project.

Thomas also serves on the Research Consortium of Cure Alzheimer’s.

#8.   We know where he lives!

We’re not going to give you an address, but we can say he and his wife live in Menlo Park.

 

#9. He’s doing good for humanity!

 He has also advanced medical knowledge of mechanisms behind poorly understood diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Schizophrenia, and Autism. His research began at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and advanced when he moved to Stanford.

#10. He is very humble.

When he heard that he had won he said “I’m absolutely surprised, every scientist dreams of this. I didn’t realize there was chance I would be awarded the prize. I am stunned and really happy to share the prize with James Rothman and Randy Schekman.”