LA JOLLA, CA—For more than 20 years, doctors have been using cells from blood that remains in the placenta and umbilical cord after childbirth to treat a variety of illnesses, from cancer and immune disorders to blood and metabolic diseases.
LA JOLLA, CA—Tickets are now available online for the 17th annual Symphony at Salk–a concert under the stars” featuring multi-award-winning singer and country/pop music sensation LeAnn Rimes, who will perform with the San Diego Symphony under the direction of returning guest conductor Thomas Wilkins.
LA JOLLA, CA—The Salk Institute is pleased to announce that faculty member Greg Lemke has been named the inaugural holder of the Françoise Gilot-Salk Chair, in recognition of his significant research accomplishments and scientific leadership.
LA JOLLA, CA—The hormone oxytocin—often referred to as the “trust” hormone or “love hormone” for its role in stimulating emotional responses—plays an important role in Williams syndrome (WS), according to a study published June 12, 2012, in PLoS ONE.
LA JOLLA, CA—With their potential to treat a wide range of diseases and uncover fundamental processes that lead to those diseases, embryonic stem (ES) cells hold great promise for biomedical science. A number of hurdles, both scientific and non-scientific, however, have precluded scientists from reaching the holy grail of using these special cells to treat heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and other diseases.
Saint Prex, Switzerland—Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a global, specialty biopharmaceuticals company, has donated $10 million to support research at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. In addition to funding the highest scientific priorities at the Salk, the Ferring gift will enable the creation of the Françoise Gilot-Salk endowed Chair, which will be used to support research on the role that TAM receptors play in immune regulation. These receptors, which were discovered in Professor Greg Lemke‘s Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, are central inhibitors of the innate immune response to bacteria, viruses and other pathogens. The Ferring gift will also continue the endowment of the Frederik Paulsen Chair in Neurosciences, named after Ferring’s founder and first established in 2000.
LA JOLLA, CA—Multi-award-winning singer and country/pop music sensation LeAnn Rimes will perform with the San Diego Symphony and returning guest conductor Thomas Wilkins on August 25 for the 17th annual Symphony at Salk-A Concert under the Stars. The fundraiser supports the leading-edge biological research at the Institute and its award-wining community education programs.
LA JOLLA, CA—A new method for rapidly solving the three-dimensional structures of a special group of proteins, known as integral membrane proteins, may speed drug discovery by providing scientists with precise targets for new therapies, according to a paper published May 20 in Nature Methods.
LA JOLLA, CA—Stem cells are essential building blocks for all organisms, from plants to humans. They can divide and renew themselves throughout life, differentiating into the specialized tissues needed during development, as well as cells necessary to repair adult tissue.
LA JOLLA, CA—It turns out that when we eat may be as important as what we eat. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that regular eating times and extending the daily fasting period may override the adverse health effects of a high-fat diet and prevent obesity, diabetes and liver disease in mice.
LA JOLLA, CA—Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Iowa State University discovered a family of plant proteins that play a role in the production of seed oils, substances important for animal and human nutrition, biorenewable chemicals and biofuels.
LA JOLLA, CA—San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) named the Salk Institute for Biological Studies as an Energy Champion for their outstanding efforts in energy efficiency and conservation at an awards ceremony on May 10. The Institute is one of 13 local businesses recognized for “going above and beyond to save energy and money by taking advantage of the many rebates and incentives that are available through SDG&E’s energy-efficiency and demand response programs,” said Hal Snyder, vice president of customer solutions for SDG&E.
LA JOLLA, CA—Humans are built to hunger for fat, packing it on during times of feast and burning it during periods of famine. But when deluged by foods rich in fat and sugar, the modern waistline often far exceeds the need to store energy for lean times, and the result has been an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease and other obesity-related problems.
LA JOLLA, CA—Salk researcher Edward M. Callaway, a professor in the Systems Neurobiology Laboratories has been elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Dr. Callaway shares the honor with some of the world’s most accomplished leaders from academia, business, public affairs, the humanities, and the arts.
LA JOLLA, CA—Mild mannered though they seem, plants are extremely competitive, especially when it comes to getting their fair share of sunlight. Whether a forest or a farm, where plants grow a battle rages for the sun’s rays.
LA JOLLA, CA—In memory of Don Schneider, former president, CEO and chairman of Schneider National, Qualcomm has donated $1.5 million to establish the Don Schneider Qualcomm Innovation Fellowship at the Salk Institute. The fellowship will endow a postdoctoral position in Schneider’s name in perpetuity and enable the Salk Institute to continue hiring the world’s best scientists to conduct biological research that impacts humanity.
LA JOLLA, CA—In their extraordinary quest to decode human metabolism, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have discovered a pair of molecules that regulates the liver’s production of glucose—the simple sugar that is the source of energy in human cells and the central player in diabetes.
LA JOLLA, CA—The discovery of a major gear in the biological clock that tells the body when to sleep and metabolize food may lead to new drugs to treat sleep problems and metabolic disorders, including diabetes.
LA JOLLA, CA—Faculty members Reuben Shaw and Lei Wang, have been promoted to the position of Associate Professor at the Salk Institute after a rigorous evaluation process by Salk senior faculty, Non-Resident Fellows, and scientific peers. The career milestone distinguishes these two investigators as leading authorities in their respective disciplines who have made original, innovative and notable contributions to biological research.
The Salk Institute is pleased to announce that faculty members Geoffrey M. Wahl and Martyn Goulding were celebrated as the recipients of endowed chairs in recognition of their significant scientific accomplishments at a special reception on March 29. Joseph Ecker, professor in Salk’s Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, who was named holder of the International Council Chair in Genetics in September 2011, was also honored at the ceremony.
