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

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -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 integration of developmental event ...

and

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ap ...

and emeritus professor in the Department of Morphology at the University of Geneva Medical School. Orci was born in 1937 in

San Giovanni Incarico San Giovanni Incarico is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. San Giovanni Incarico borders the following municipalities: Arce, C ...

. 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 research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centu ...

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 accelerated electrons as a source of illumination. As the wavelength of an electron can be up to 100,000 times shorter than that of visible light photons, electron microscopes have a hi ...

. 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 ''INS'' gene. It is considered to be the main anabolic hormone of the body. It regulates the metabolism o ...

from the

beta cell Beta cells (β-cells) are a type of cell found in pancreatic islets that synthesize and secrete insulin and amylin. Beta cells make up 50–70% of the cells in human islets. In patients with Type 1 diabetes, beta-cell mass and function are dimini ...

. His group was the first to utilize

immunogold labelling Immunogold labeling or Immunogold staining (IGS) is a staining technique used in electron microscopy. This staining technique is an equivalent of the indirect immunofluorescence technique for visible light. Colloidal gold particles are most ofte ...

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 and ...

, 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 P ...

the Nobel Prize.

Awards

* 1973 :

Minkowski Prize The Minkowski Prize is given by the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in recognition to research which has been carried out by a person normally residing in Europe, as manifested by publications which contribute to the advancem ...

(

European Association for the Study of Diabetes The European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) is a scientific association founded in Montecatini Terme, Italy in 1965 with Joseph Hoet as Founding President. The aims of the association are to encourage and support research in the fiel ...

) * 1977 : Nessim Habif Prize * 1979 : Fernand Tissot Prize * 1978 : Mack-Foster Award (

European Society for Clinical Investigation The European Society for Clinical Investigation (ESCI) was founded on February 12, 1967 as a pan-European society of clinicians and scientists with a genuine interest in uncovering disease mechanisms. The term ''clinical investigation'' is interpret ...

) * 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 2,500 mem ...

) * 1985 :

King Faisal International Prize The King Faisal Prize ( ar, جائزة الملك فيصل, 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". T ...

for Medicine * 1986 :

Otto Naegeli Prize The Otto-Naegeli-Preis is a Swiss award for medical research that is awarded every two years. It is one of the most prestigious Swiss medical awards and is given with an award sum of 200,000 Swiss Francs. It was established in 1960 and is named a ...

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, 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 Nati ...

* 1999 : Fellow of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

* 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 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 People from the Province of Frosinone Minkowski Prize recipients Italian diabetologists