Spotlight

Salk’s Innovation Grant Program was launched in 2006 by then-Board chair Irwin Jacobs and his wife, Joan. These grants are designed to fund unconventional and forward-looking ideas that don’t fit the mold of more traditional funding sources. The Collaboration Grant Program was launched in 2019 to foster new collaborative efforts between Salk scientists. Inspired by the success of the Innovation Grant Program, these awards support team-science approaches for tackling important challenges, laying the foundation for large research grants. Three new Innovation and Collaboration Grants were recently awarded: Salk President Gerald Joyce and Associate Professor Dmitry Lyumkis have proposed a new method to capture, for the first time, how RNA remodels itself through evolution; Assistant Professor Daniel Hollern is developing an innovative strategy to help the immune system recognize tumor cells by prompting B cells to release anti-tumor antibodies that can mark the cells as cancerous; and Research Professor Todd Michael is generating plant artificial chromosomes that hold hundreds to thousands of genes to revolutionize scientists’ ability to address fundamental questions about plant evolution—a critical line of inquiry as Salk researchers work to improve crop plant stability and resilience in the face of climate change.

Luddy founded ServiceNow, a leading intelligent platform driving end-to-end digital transformation. Under his leadership, ServiceNow became the fastest-growing enterprise software company to achieve more than $10 billion in annual revenue organically. Today, Luddy continues to innovate as a technology visionary, focusing on projects to revolutionize spreadsheets and improve the diagnosis and treatment of rare genetic diseases in children. “Fred’s innovative spirit and experience in technological advancement align well with Salk’s mission to advance high-impact science, especially our ambitions in biocomputation,” says Salk President Gerald Joyce. “We are excited to welcome him to our Board and look forward to the unique perspective he will bring.”

As a Nonresident Fellow, Weigel joins a group of eminent scientific advisors who guide the Institute’s leadership. Weigel is a director and scientific member at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen in Germany and a former Salk faculty member. He uses genomic techniques to study developmental and evolutionary plant biology.

Professors Joseph Ecker, Ronald Evans, Rusty Gage, Satchin Panda, Reuben Shaw, and Kay Tye, as well as research assistant Joseph Nery, were named to the Highly Cited Researchers list by Clarivate. The 2024 list included 6,636 researchers from 59 countries who have demonstrated “significant and broad influence in their fields of research,” as reflected by their publication of multiple papers over the past decade that rank in the top 1 percent by citations for their fields.

Awarded this year in the field of medicine, Hunter joined the prestigious list of 94 individuals who have earned the prize over the past 31 years—several of whom have gone on to earn Nobel Prizes. The award is given by the Prince Mahidol Award Foundation, which annually awards individuals and institutions with “outstanding and exemplary contributions to the advancement of international medical and public health services.” Hunter received a medal, certificate, and $100,000 prize.

Gladstone Institutes selected Gage for his pioneering work in stem cell biology of the central nervous system, which he studies using reprogrammed cells to help scientists understand age-related neurological diseases and psychiatric disorders. He was celebrated in a ceremony last December, where he received $150,000.

Evans was awarded the 2025 Kimberly Prize from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Simpson Querrey Institute for Epigenetics, as well as the 2025 Rolf Luft Award from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. Both awards pay tribute to his discovery and functional characterization of the superfamily of nuclear hormone receptors. This work was hugely impactful in uniting the field of endocrine physiology and led to the development of new drugs to treat leukemia, liver disease, inflammation, type 2 diabetes mellitus, cancer, and more.

Founded in 1785, the Royal Irish Academy serves to advance learning and scholarship in Ireland. Among the Academy’s duties is to recognize outstanding research achievements and promote awareness of the positive impact science has on our lives. Joyce will now be a part of this mission and will be formally inducted at a ceremony in Dublin.