Prof. George Palade: Nobel prize-winner whose work laid the foundations for modern molecular cell biology

During the last century experimental biology was transformed from a largely descriptive endeavour to a mainstream biomedical science and, at the turning point in the 1950s, George Palade made a series of outstanding contributions. Described as "the most influential cell biologist ever", he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine in 1974.

The prize was awarded for his innovations in electron microscopy and cell fractionation which together laid the foundations of modern molecular cell biology. These studies were carried out at the Rockefeller Institute in New York through the 1950s and 1960s, initially with Keith Porter and Albert Claude and then with a series of distinguished co-workers who included Günter Blobel, David Sabatini, Philip Siekevitz, James Jamieson and Marilyn Farqhuar.

From his earliest publications on the membrane-bound ribosomes of the endoplasmic reticulum – which he first described in 1955 as "a small particulate component of the cytoplasm" – through to Blobel's identification of the first trafficking signals in the cell (being made in the microsomes derived from the endoplasmic reticulum and for which Blobel was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1999), the impact of Palade's approaches was profound.

Coupling the identity of structures seen by microscopy to the analysis of functions of these same structures in cell-free systems, served, time and again, to open up an understanding of the mechanisms which operate along cellular pathways. By the 1980s, when the innovations and insights from DNA-driven technology began to open avenues into present-day health care problems such as malignancy and neurodegeneration, the basic route maps through the cell had been thoroughly surveyed.

When the Rockefeller group began, unravelling the fundamental mechanisms of cell function in molecular detail required the most basic of innovations. Liquid mixtures preserving cellular fine structure for electron microscopy needed to be devised and media for maintaining functions in cells broken open and subjected to high-speed centrifugation needed to be found. Palade's earliest answers to these challenges – buffered osmium and sucrose, respectively – remain in use today.

Since then the field has grown enormously; the American Society for Cell Biology, now in its 50th year and for which Palade and his co-workersprovided most of the presidents and council members in the early decades, has over 10,000 members. But the essential requirement of studying function in the context of structure, now albeit with the close analysis possible at two Angstroms resolution, remains the same.

After almost 30 years at the Rockefeller, Palade moved to Yale in 1973 to set up what was to become one of the foremost departments of cell biology in the United States. He continued to be a productive mentor, producing a steady stream of cell biologists who went on to lead front-line institutions throughout the US, Canada and Europe. He also continued to be an inspiring teacher.

Describing his "enviable record" in teaching, Günter Blobel said: "His methods are subtle. A lengthy and boring seminar suddenly becomes illuminated by his lively and concise remarks into an amazingly simple and coherent concept. Working hypotheses are formulated with great ease. He allows for active participation in his creative processes. It's like responding to a beautiful serve in tennis; it's a dialogue, not a monologue."

Throughout his career, from Bucharest, Romania where he obtained his MD and taught for several years during the Second World War before emigrating to the US in 1946, to the Medical School at the University of California, San Diego, where he became founding dean for scientific affairs in 1990, George Palade was an exemplar, always looking to the future and preparing the way for others. He retained an interest in Romanian science and, in particular, in the Institute of Cellular Biology and Pathology "N. Simionescu", now directed by his long-time co-researcher Maya Simionescu, which represents the best in East European cell biology. At UCSD he set up the new department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and is generally thought to have transformed the development of basic sciences in that school.

With molecular cell biology underpinning so much of the experimental research in biomedical science, the value of Palade's creativity and inspiration has been widely recognised. In addition to becoming a Nobel Laureate in 1974 he was a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was also a recipient of the National Medal of Science, USA, the Albert Lasker Award, the Gairdner Special Award, and many other honours.

He was described by his colleague David Sabatini as "a man of great human qualities – warm and sensitive, polite and gracious." The scientific community at large will acknowledge the loss of one of the most formidable scientists of "the Biologists' Century".

Colin Hopkins

George Emil Palade, cell biologist:born Iassy, Romania 19 November 1912; Instructor, Assistant Professor, then Lecturer in Anatomy, School ofMedicine, University of Bucharest 1940-45; Visiting Investigator, then Assistant, Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research, New York (later Rockefeller University) 1946-48, Associate 1951-53, Associate Member 1953-56, Member 1956-73, Professor of Cell Biology 1956-73; Professor of Cell Biology, Yale University 1973-1983, Senior Research Scientist 1983-90; Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1974; Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California at San Diego 1990-2000 (Emeritus), Dean for Scientific Affairs, School of Medicine 1990-2000; married 1941 Irina Malaxa (deceased; one son, one daughter), 1970 Marilyn Farquhar; died Del Mar, California 7 October 2008.