Frontiers The aging puzzle comes together

Observations Dmitry Lyumkis A passion for problem solving

Insights Pamela Maher Seeking treatments for Alzheimer’s disease

Next Gen Rajasree Kalagiri Bound to phosphohistidine

In this issue

Frontiers

The aging puzzle comes together

Aging is a complex puzzle, but by applying a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach, Salk scientists are putting its many pieces together.

Observations

Dmitry Lyumkis

Assistant Professor Dmitry Lyumkis discusses what he loves about data and the scientific process, and which places inspire him outside the lab.

Insights

Pamela Maher

From having a large garden to investigating compounds that plants make, Staff Scientist Pam Maher talks about how plants inspire her to find treatments for Alzheimer’s disease.

Next Gen

Rajasree Kalagiri

Rajasree Kalagiri shares the serendipitous steps along her journey of scientific discovery from southern India to Southern California.

President’s Letter

“Most of the world’s population does not have access to vaccines, and the threat of infection and death remains tragically high in countries such as India. As supply increases and distribution expands, a path forward is emerging to control this devastating pandemic.”

Fred H. Gage

President

View President’s letter

Discoveries

Neuroscience

New clues why gold standard treatment for bipolar disorder doesn’t work for majority of patientsLithium is considered the gold standard for treating bipolar disorder (BD), but nearly 70 percent of people with BD don’t respond to it. Now, Salk Professor and President Rusty Gage, co-first authors Renata Santos and Shani Stern, co-corresponding author Carol Marchetto, and colleagues have found that decreased activation of a gene called LEF1 disrupts ordinary neuronal function and promotes hyperexcitability in brain cells—a hallmark of BD. The work could result in a new drug target for BD as well as a biomarker for lithium nonresponsiveness.See All

Cancer

Salk team reveals never-before-seen antibody binding, informing both liver cancer and antibody designSome molecules are so elusive that scientists require a unique set of tools to capture their structure. That’s precisely how a multi-institutional research team led by Salk scientist Tony Hunter and Salk postdoctoral fellow Rajasree Kalagiri, featured in this issue’s “Next Gen,” defined how antibodies recognize a compound called phosphohistidine—an unstable molecule that’s implicated in certain cancers, such as liver and breast cancer and neuroblastoma. These insights could help researchers understand the molecule’s role in cancer pathways and also enable the design of more efficient antibodies in the future.See All

Plant Biology

New protein helps carnivorous plants sense and trap their preyThe brush of an insect’s wing is enough to trigger a Venus flytrap to snap shut, but the biology of how these plants sense and respond to touch is still poorly understood, especially at the molecular level. A new study led by Salk Professor Joanne Chory and co-first author and Staff Scientist Carl Procko identifies what appears to be a key protein involved in touch sensitivity for flytraps and other carnivorous plants. The findings could help scientists better understand how plants of all kinds sense and respond to mechanical stimulation, and could also have a potential application in medical therapies that mechanically stimulate human cells such as neurons.See All

Microbiome

Specific bacteria in the gut prompt mother mice to neglect their pupsThe microbiota are the microorganisms that colonize the body, but scientists are unsure about how they affect the brain. Professor Janelle Ayres, first author and former graduate student Yujung Michelle Lee and colleagues have identified a strain of E. coli bacteria that, when living in the guts of female mice, causes them to neglect their offspring. The findings show a direct link between a particular microbe and maternal behavior, demonstrating that microbes in the gut are important for brain health and can affect development and behavior.See All

Healthy Aging

How brain cells repair their DNA reveals “hot spots” of aging and diseaseNeurons lack the ability to replicate their DNA, so they’re constantly working to repair damage to their genome. A new study by Salk Professor and President Rusty Gage and colleagues reports that these repairs are not random, but instead focus on protecting certain genetic “hot spots” that appear to play a critical role in neural identity and function. The findings give novel insights into the genetic structures involved in aging and neurodegeneration, and could point to the development of potential new therapies for diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other age-related dementia disorders.See All

Computational Biology

Research catches up to world’s fastest growing plantWolffia, also known as duckweed, is the fastest-growing plant known, but the genetics underlying this strange little plant’s success have long been unknown to scientists. Now, a multi-investigator effort led by Todd Michael, research professor and first author of the paper, along with coauthor and Professor Joseph Ecker, reports new findings about the plant’s genome that explain how it is able to grow so fast. The research will help scientists to understand how plants put down roots and defend themselves from pests, with implications for developing plants that are optimized to increase carbon storage to help address climate change.See All

Infectious Disease

Fast, portable test can diagnose COVID-19 and track variantsSalk Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte and collaborators have developed a new viral screening test that can not only diagnose COVID-19 in a matter of minutes with a portable, pocket-sized machine, but can also simultaneously test for other viruses—like influenza—that might be mistaken for the coronavirus. Called NIRVANA, this test can sequence the virus, providing valuable information on the spread of COVID-19 mutations and variants.See All

Spotlight

Like father, like son

A few years ago, Salk American Cancer Society Professor Tony Hunter was catching up with his older son, Sean, who at the time was a new graduate student in the cancer biology program at Stanford University. Sean had recently joined a lab led by bioengineering Professor Jennifer Cochran and wanted his dad’s opinion about a research project he might pursue.

Salk receives $1 million from Biomed Realty to support innovative cancer research and faculty

The Salk Institute received a matching $1 million gift from the BioMed Realty Management Team, which was used to fund the recruitment of award-winning cancer researcher Christina Towers and to support her research and that of the Salk Cancer Center.

Neuroscientists receive $4.4 million from NIH BRAIN Initiative

Salk Institute neuroscientists Edward Callaway, Sreekanth Chalasani and Nancy Padilla Coreano were named recipients in the 2020 round of grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to gain new insights into brain function.

Donor Spotlight – Tim Schoen

Tim Schoen is the CEO of BioMed Realty, a San Diego-based leading provider of real estate solutions for the life science and technology industries, and a generous Salk Institute supporter. He’s also a Salk Trustee and the chairman of the Salk’s Conquering Cancer Initiative Advisory Committee.

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Events

Women & Science tackle climate change

Salk’s Women & Science program collaborated with the Del Mar Garden Club on its annual community outreach program to offer an exciting and informative virtual event focused on how plants can help tackle climate change. Professor and Director Joanne Chory spoke about climate change and the effect plants have on it.

Thousands of students gather virtually for March of Dimes High School Science Week

In February, Salk’s annual March of Dimes High School Science Day took place virtually, and was extended from one day to an entire week. The annual outreach event was designed to encourage high school students to consider an exciting career in science and research. In this virtual event, students from around the country had the opportunity to remotely visit with Salk scientists, hear about their work, take lab tours and participate in current experiments.

Power of science: conquering pancreatic cancer

Salkexcellerators get expert view on COVID-19 vaccinations

On January 27, in a virtual discussion with Salkexcellerators, Professor and Director Susan Kaech and Professor Gerald Joyce gave their expert view on the underlying science of the vaccines being deployed in the fight against COVID-19 and how the immune system responds to the vaccine to protect against infection. Salkexcellerators are an extraordinary group of community members, entrepreneurs, and business professionals who share a passion for supporting and learning about Salk’s recent discoveries.