Daniel J. Klionsky

Klionsky elucidated the molecular mechanism of macroautophagy, a process central to the pathogenesis of numerous diseases including cancer, neurodegeneration and diabetes. He first characterized the cytoplasm-to-vacuole targeting pathway in a paper published adjacent to the work of Ohsumi; thus they were contemporaneous in discovering the autophagy pathway in yeast. Klionsky played a major role in shaping the entire autophagy field. His lab initially identified and characterized nearly half of the known autophagy-related (ATG) genes/proteins. He provided particular insight into the molecular details of selective autophagy, including the identification of the first autophagy-specific receptor and scaffold protein involved in cargo packaging.

Klionsky has also received attention for his dedication to education, and for the introduction of active-learning techniques to the biology curriculum. He received the National Science Foundation Director's Award for Distinguished Teaching Scholars in 2003, and was named a National Academies Education Mentor in the Life Sciences in 2006.