Lelio Orci (22 March 1937 – 22 October 2019) was an Italian scientist in the field of

endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...

and

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

and emeritus professor in the Department of Morphology at the University of Geneva Medical School. Orci was born in 1937 in San Giovanni Incarico. He received his BA in 1958. He studied medicine at the University of Rome, graduating in 1964. In 1966, he moved to the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public university, public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by French theologian John Calvin as a Theology, theological seminary. It rema ...

where he worked ever since. He was chair of the Department of Morphology from 1976 until his retirement in 2000, transitioning to professor emeritus. Orci is known for his work on cell and tissue biology using

electron microscopy An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing i ...

. In the first part of his research career, Orci's laboratory largely studied the organization of the pancreatic islet of Langerhans, as well as the secretion pathway of

insulin Insulin (, from Latin ''insula'', 'island') is a peptide hormone produced by beta cells of the pancreatic islets encoded in humans by the insulin (''INS)'' gene. It is the main Anabolism, anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabol ...

from the

beta cell Beta cells (β-cells) are specialized endocrine cells located within the pancreatic islets of Langerhans responsible for the production and release of insulin and amylin. Constituting ~50–70% of cells in human islets, beta cells play a vi ...

. His group was the first to utilize immunogold labelling to localize intracellular proteins (published in 1980), and among the first to use freeze-fracture with electron microscopy to study a cell's internal organization. In 1984, he began collaborating with

James Rothman James Edward Rothman (born November 3, 1950) is an American biochemist. He is the Fergus F. Wallace Professor of Biomedical Sciences at Yale University, the Chairman of the Department of Cell Biology at Yale School of Medicine, and the Director ...

on the work in vesicle trafficking that eventually earned Rothman,

Randy Schekman Randy Wayne Schekman (born December 30, 1948) is an American cell biologist at the University of California, Berkeley, former editor-in-chief of ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' and former editor of '' Annual Review of Cell an ...

, and

Thomas C. Südhof Thomas Christian Südhof (; born December 22, 1955), ForMemRS, is a German-American biochemist known for his study of synaptic transmission. Currently, he is a professor in the school of medicine in the department of molecular and cellular physi ...

the Nobel Prize.

Awards

* 1973 : Minkowski Prize ( European Association for the Study of Diabetes) * 1977 : Nessim-Habif World Prize, University of Geneva * 1979 : Fernand Tissot Prize * 1978 : Mack-Foster Award ( European Society for Clinical Investigation) * 1978 : David Rumbough Award ( American Juvenile Diabetes Foundation) * 1981 : Banting Medal (

American Diabetes Association The American Diabetes Association (ADA) is a United States-based nonprofit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes, including type 1 diabetes ...

) * 1983 : Dale Medal (

Society for Endocrinology The Society for Endocrinology is an international membership organisation and registered charity representing scientists, clinicians and nurses who work with hormones. The Society was established in 1946, and currently has approximately 3,000 mem ...

) * 1985 :

King Faisal International Prize The King Faisal Prize (, formerly King Faisal International Prize), is an annual award sponsored by King Faisal Foundation presented to "dedicated men and women whose contributions make a positive difference". The foundation awards prizes in fiv ...

for Medicine * 1986 : Otto Naegeli Prize for Medicine * 1986 : Special Golgi Award (European Association for the Study of Diabetes) * 1987 : Morgagni Medal (G.B. Morgagni International Prizes) * 1991 : Elliot P. Joslin Award (Massachusetts Affiliate of the American Diabetes Association) * 1998 : Member of the Senate of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences * 1998 : Foreign Member of

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

* 1999 : Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

* 2000 : Lucien Dautrebande Triennial Prize (The Physiopathology Foundation) * 2007 : Leon Lombarti Prize * Order of Commander of Honor by the Italian Government The Lelio Orci Award for advances in cell biology was established in 2015.

Personal life

In a 2020 obituary, Orci was described as having a "strong, flamboyant personality" and "infectious enthusiasm" for science. He traveled rarely, instead working long hours in his laboratory. Orci had a wife, Catherine, and three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orci, Lelio 1937 births 2019 deaths Italian endocrinologists Italian diabetologists Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Academic staff of the University of Geneva Sapienza University of Rome alumni People from the Province of Frosinone Minkowski Prize recipients