Alexander Sorkin, Richard King Mellon Physiology Professor and chair, Department of Cell Biology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, has been recognized by ScholarGPS as No. 2 in the world for his lifetime of work in endocytosis as part of their Highly Ranked Scholars classification. The designation is reserved for “the most productive (number of publications) authors whose works are of profound impact (citations) and of utmost quality (h-index),” according to ScholarGPS.
Sorkin seeks to understand how endocytosis (a process by which surface membranes pouch inward and pinch off to form vesicles that eventually fuse with lysosomes) and postendocytic trafficking regulate signaling within cells as well as neurotransmission. His lab pursues these questions in relation to both cancer and brain diseases like substance abuse.