Blobel, Günter

Blobel, Günter

(born May 21, 1936, Waltersdorf, Silesia, Ger.) U.S. cellular and molecular biologist. He earned his M.D. from Eberhard-Karl University and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin. Working in collaboration with other research groups, Blobel showed that each protein carries a signal sequence that directs it to the proper location inside the cell. He also concluded that proteins enter organelles through a porelike channel that opens in the organelle's outer membrane when the correct protein arrives at the organelle. For his work, Blobel was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1999. His research shed light on such hereditary diseases as cystic fibrosis and provided the basis for bioengineered drugs, including insulin.