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Scientist Profile

Richard H. Scheller

Executive Vice President, Research Administration
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"The thing that I live for is that moment when you understand something you've been thinking about for days or months or years."

I joined Genentech in 2001 as senior vice president, Research and was named executive vice president of Research in September 2003 and appointed chief scientific officer in 2008. Following the Roche merger in 2009, I became executive vice president of Research and Early Development. In this role I oversee Genentech's discovery research through clinical proof of concept. I am a member of Genentech's Executive Committee and a member of the Enlarged Executive Committee of Roche.

I was initially drawn to Genentech because its culture lies somewhere between academic and corporate and comprises the best of both worlds. Like a university, Genentech values research and individual creativity tremendously, with its basic and clinical scientists publishing many important papers in prestigious journals. But because we are a therapeutics company, we encourage scientists to focus much, but not necessarily all, of their research on potential applications to medicine.

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Genentech | Science

Norway Prize

 
 
 
 
My Focus

I spend my days hearing scientific progress reports from different groups in the Research organization, grappling with how basic science can be translated into medical applications.

I enjoy the breadth of scientific discovery that I encounter every day and the challenge of trying to turn research into potential therapies for patients. I also enjoy interacting with the clinical groups and attend the development review committees (DRCs), where critical decisions on clinical trial programs are made.

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My Interests

In general, my mission is to make Genentech Research and Early Development a place where individuals can fulfill their dreams and excel to their full potential. In particular, I am dedicated to having an environment where basic science and clinical researchers engage in world-class research that is second to none. Another goal I have is to strike a balance between the visionary and the practical in the Research department, between risky projects that encourage scientific innovation and exploration and safer projects that have a higher likelihood of moving into the clinic.

 
Publications & Recognition
  • Identification of Rab11 as a small GTPasebinding protein for the Evi5 oncogene.
  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007 Jan 23; 104(4): 1236-41.
  • Westlake CJ, Junutula JR, Simon GC, Pilli M, Prekeris R, Scheller RH, Jackson PK, Eldridge AG.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • SNAREs--engines for membrane fusion.
  • Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2006 Sep; 7(9): 631-43.
  • Jahn R, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Death-receptor activation halts clathrin-dependent endocytosis.
  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2006 Jul 5; 103(27): 10283-8.
  • Austin CD, Lawrence DA, Peden AA, Varfolomeev EE, Totpal K, De Maziere AM, Klumperman J, Arnott D, Pham V, Scheller RH, Ashkenazi A.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
 
View All Publications & Recognition
 
  • Stanford University Medical Center
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Investigator
  • 1994-2001
  • Stanford University
  • Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology & Department of Biological Sciences, Professor
  • 1993-2001
  • Stanford University Medical Center
  • Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Associate Investigator
  • 1990-1994
  • Stanford University
  • Department of Molecular and Cellular Physiology & Department of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor
  • 1990-1993
  • Stanford University
  • Department of Biological Sciences, Associate Professor
  • 1987-1990
  • Stanford University
  • Department of Biological Sciences, Assistant Professor
  • 1982-1987
  • Columbia University
  • College of Physicians and Surgeons, Molecular Neurobiology, Postdoctoral Fellow
  • 1981-1982
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Division of Biology, Postdoctoral Fellow
  • 1980-1981
  • California Institute of Technology
  • Division of Chemistry, Ph.D.
  • 1975-1980
  • University of Wisconsin, Madison
  • Department of Biochemistry, B.S. 1971-1975
Publications & Recognition
  • Identification of Rab11 as a small GTPasebinding protein for the Evi5 oncogene.
  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2007 Jan 23; 104(4): 1236-41.
  • Westlake CJ, Junutula JR, Simon GC, Pilli M, Prekeris R, Scheller RH, Jackson PK, Eldridge AG.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • SNAREs--engines for membrane fusion.
  • Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol 2006 Sep; 7(9): 631-43.
  • Jahn R, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Death-receptor activation halts clathrin-dependent endocytosis.
  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2006 Jul 5; 103(27): 10283-8.
  • Austin CD, Lawrence DA, Peden AA, Varfolomeev EE, Totpal K, De Maziere AM, Klumperman J, Arnott D, Pham V, Scheller RH, Ashkenazi A.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Exo84 and Sec5 are competitive regulatory Sec6/8 effectors to the RalA GTPase.
  • EMBO J 2005 Jun 15; 24(12): 2064-74.
  • Jin R, Junutula JR, Matern HT, Ervin KE, Scheller RH, Brunger AT.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Rab14 is involved in membrane trafficking between the Golgi complex and endosomes.
  • C Mol Biol Cell 2004 May; 15(5): 2218-29.
  • Junutula JR, De Maziere AM, Peden AA, Ervin KE, Advani RJ, van Dijk SM, Klumperman J, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Localization of the AP-3 adaptor complex defines a novel endosomal exit site for lysosomal membrane proteins.
  • J Cell Biol 2004 Mar 29; 164(7): 1065-76.
  • Peden AA, Oorschot V, Hesser BA, Austin CD, Scheller RH, Klumperman J.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Recordings from single neocortical nerve terminals reveal a nonselective cation channel activated by decreases in extracellular calcium.
  • Neuron 2004 Jan 22; 41(2): 243-56.
  • Smith SM, Bergsman JB, Harata NC, Scheller RH, Tsien RW.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • The ionic layer is required for efficient dissociation of the SNARE complex by alpha-SNAP and NSF.
  • Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2001 Dec 4; 98(25): 14262-7.
  • Scales SJ, Yoo BY, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Sequential SNARE assembly underlies priming and triggering of exocytosis.
  • Neuron 2001 Apr; 30(1): 161-70.
  • Chen YA, Scales SJ, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • A genomic perspective on membrane compartment organization.
  • Nature 2001 Feb 15; 409(6822): 839-41.
  • Bock JB, Matern HT, Peden AA, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • A Rab11/Rip11 protein complex regulates apical membrane trafficking via recycling endosomes.
  • Mol Cell 2000 Dec; 6(6): 1437-48.
  • Prekeris R, Klumperman J, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • SNAREs contribute to the specificity of membrane fusion.
  • Neuron 2000 May; 26(2): 457-64.
  • Scales SJ, Chen YA, Yoo BY, Patel SM, Doung YC, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Three-dimensional structure of the neuronal-Sec1-syntaxin 1a complex.
  • Nature 2000 Mar 23; 404(6776): 355-62.
  • Misura KM, Scheller RH, Weis WI.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • SNARE complex formation is triggered by Ca2+ and drives membrane fusion.
  • Cell 1999 Apr 16; 97(2): 165-74.
  • Chen YA, Scales SJ, Patel SM, Doung YC, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Protein interactions regulating vesicle transport between the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus in mammalian cells.
  • Cell 1997 Apr 4; 89(1): 149-58.
  • Hay JC, Chao DS, Kuo CS, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Presynaptic component of long-term potentiation visualized at individual hippocampal synapses.
  • Science 1995 Jun 16; 268(5217): 1624-8.
  • Malgaroli A, Ting AE, Wendland B, Bergamaschi A, Villa A, Tsien RW, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Single cells as biosensors for chemical separations.
  • Science 1995 Jan 6; 267(5194): 74-7.
  • Shear JB, Fishman HA, Allbritton NL, Garigan D, Zare RN, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • A role for dystrophin-associated glycoproteins and utrophin in agrin-induced AChR clustering.
  • Cell 1994 Jun 3; 77(5): 663-74.
  • Campanelli JT, Roberds SL, Campbell KP, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
  • Protein-protein interactions contributing to the specificity of intracellular vesicular trafficking.
  • Science 1994 Feb 25; 263(5150): 1146-9.
  • Calakos N, Bennett MK, Peterson KE, Scheller RH.
  • View Abstract on PubMed
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Awards & Honors
  • The Kavli Prize in Neuroscience 2010
  • National Academy of Sciences, Member 2000
  • American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Fellow 1998
  • National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology 1997
  • W. Alden Spencer Award, Columbia University 1993
  • National Institute of Mental Health MERIT Award 1992
  • National Science Foundation Alan T. Waterman Award 1989
  • Camille and Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Grant 1986
  • Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences 1986
  • Presidential Young Investigator Award 1985
  • Klingenstein Fellow in the Neurosciences 1985
  • Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award 1984
  • Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow 1984
  • March of Dimes Foundation Basil O'Connor Award 1983
  • McKnight Foundation Scholar 1983
  • National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship 1981-1982
  • National Institutes of Health Postdoctoral Fellowship 1976-1980
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