Salk Professor Joanne Chory, one of the world’s preeminent plant biologists who led the charge to mitigate climate change with plant-based solutions as Founding Director of the Harnessing Plants Initiative, died on November 12, 2024, at the age of 69 due to complications from Parkinson’s disease. She was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2004 and, despite the challenges, continued to lead her research team until the time of her death.

Chory, who was also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, spent more than 30 years studying how plants respond to their environments, and she made many important discoveries regarding how plants sense light and make growth hormones.

Chory joined the Salk Institute in 1988 as an assistant professor and one of the first plant biologists at the Institute. Most recently, she was a full professor, directed Salk’s Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, and held the Howard H. and Maryam R. Newman Chair in Plant Biology. Joanne was a founding faculty member of Salk’s Women & Science program in 2012 and cherished her role as a mentor for women in STEM fields.

Read the official press release about Chory’s passing here»

Click the link below and choose the funding area from the dropdown.

• Harnessing Plants Initiative: Support Joanne’s vision to combat climate change through the Harnessing Plants Initiative.
• Joanne Chory Legacy Fund: Celebrate Joanne’s legacy by contributing to an endowment in her honor.
• Women & Science: Advance Joanne’s passion for empowering women in science by supporting this initiative.

For any questions, please contact Ginny Chacos at gchacos@salk.edu.