Japanese scientist Yoshinori Ohsumi was awarded this year’s Nobel Prize in medicine on Monday for discoveries related to the degrading and recycling of cellular components.

Announcing the Prize in Stockholm, the Nobel committee said in a statement that this year’s Nobel Laureate “discovered and elucidated mechanisms underlying autophagy, a fundamental process for degrading and recycling cellular components.”

It is the the 107th award in medicine category since the first Nobel Prizes were handed out in 1905.Last year’s prize was shared by three scientists who developed treatments for malaria and tropical diseases.

Ohsumi was born in 1945 in Fukuoka, Japan. He is currently a professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology. Each prize is worth 8 million kronor ($930,000).

The winners of the physics, chemistry and peace prizes are to be announced later this week. The economics prize will be announced on Monday 10 October.

Tags: autophagyhealth newsNobel PrizeNobel Prize in MedicineNobel Prize in PhysiologyYoshinori Ohsumi