In the News Joan and Irwin Jacobs A perfect match

Frontiers How computational biology is making us smarter

Insights Natalie Luhtala Shaping pancreatic cancer research to have real world applications

Next Gen Laura Newman From mitochondria to craft beer and back

In this issue

In The News

Joan and Irwin Jacobs — A perfect match

Joan and Irwin Jacobs donate $100 million, a transformative gift, helping to launch Salk’s five-year, $500M philanthropic and scientific Campaign for the Future.

Frontiers

How computational biology is making us smarter

The Salk Institute is embracing the artificial intelligence revolution and inventing new ways to investigate life. Machine learning, deep learning and other AI techniques are being used to probe massive data sets, identify useful information and make accurate predictions.

Insights

Natalie Luhtala — Shaping pancreatic cancer research to have real world applications

This year, Staff Scientist Natalie Luhtala celebrates her 10-year work anniversary at the Institute. In her current role, she’s directing a project examining an elusive signaling pathway to identify new targets for treating pancreatic cancer.

Next Gen

Laura Newman — From mitochondria to craft beer and back

Laura Newman, a Salk postdoctoral researcher, fell in love with science in a lab in college and switched from a medical program to pursuing biochemistry and developmental biology. At Salk, her main focus is on how cells can recognize when they’re sick or damaged in order to activate the immune system for cell survival.

President’s Letter

“Science is changing rapidly, with powerful new technologies, including cloud computing, artificial intelligence and new approaches to conduct multi-omic sequencing and analysis, creating new ways to approach some of biology’s biggest problems.”

Fred H. Gage

President

View President’s letter

Discoveries

Neuroscience

Measuring chemical markers to determine brain cell type

Salk faculty Joseph Ecker, Margarita Behrens and colleagues analyzed over 100,000 mouse brain cells using a scientific technique that identifies a chemical pattern called methylation, which is one way cells control gene expression. The scientists then applied this technique to thousands of cells from 45 different regions of the mouse brain and identified 161 clusters of cell types, each distinguished by its pattern of methylation. The team also showed that the methylation patterns could be used to predict where in the brain any given cell came from—not just within broad regions but down to specific layers of cells within a region. This means that eventually drugs could be developed that act only on small groups of cells by targeting their unique epigenomics.

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Cancer

The Salk Institute and Sanford Burnham Prebys license ULK1/2 inhibitors to Endeavor BioMedicines for treatment of cancerIn 2015, Salk Professor Reuben Shaw and Professor Nicholas Cosford at Sanford Burnham Prebys (SBP) demonstrated that by chemically blocking the ULK1/2 protein, they could shut down the cellular recycling pathway known as autophagy that some cancer cells use to stay alive. The researchers found small molecule compounds that effectively blocked ULK1/2 and killed cancer cells, including human and mouse lung cancer cells and human pancreatic cancer cells. Now, Salk, along with SBP, has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Endeavor BioMedicines for an intellectual property portfolio relating to cancer therapeutics and diagnostics that target ULK1/2. Endeavor plans to complete studies and advance the program into the clinic, initially in colorectal and lung cancers, in the next 18 months.See All

Plant Biology

Salk plant researchers launch collaboration to breed carbon-capturing sorghumSalk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative (HPI) aims to address climate change by optimizing the ability of crop plants to remove carbon from the atmosphere and store it deeply in the ground for long periods. Now, HPI researchers, led by Salk Research Professor Todd Michael, have established a five-year, $6.2 million collaboration with Senior Research Scientist Nadia Shakoor at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center to identify and develop sorghum plants that can better capture and store atmospheric carbon. Sorghum, one of the top five cereal crops in the world, is known as an environmentally friendly, drought-resistant plant, making it an ideal crop to optimize for carbon capture.See All

Metabolism

Benefits of time-restricted eating depend on age and sexTime-restricted eating (TRE), a dietary regimen that restricts eating to specific hours, has garnered increased attention in weight-loss circles. A new study by Professor Satchin Panda, first author Amandine Chaix and colleagues showed that while age and sex do affect the outcomes of TRE, the eating strategy delivers multiple health benefits for young and old of both males and females, and indicates that TRE may be a valuable intervention for type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and liver cancer, and even infectious diseases such as COVID-19, in humans.See All

Spotlight

Funding Unique, Promising Ideas: The 2021 Salk Innovation Grants

Thanks to the forward-thinking minds of longtime Salk supporters Irwin and Joan Jacobs, every year since 2009 Salk’s Innovation Grants Program has rewarded out-of-the-box ideas that hold significant promise but may not yet have the track record to attract funding from more traditional sources. With awards given semiannually by peer review, Salk’s Innovation Grants Program is critical for catalyzing emerging science with the power to redefine the future.

Kay Tye selected as Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator

Professor Kay Tye was selected as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) investigator, joining a prestigious group of more than 250 HHMI investigators across the United States who are tackling important scientific questions. Tye, who is a member of the Systems Neurobiology Laboratory and holds the Wylie Vale Chair, is known for her seminal work on the neural-circuit basis of emotion that leads to motivated behaviors, such as social interaction, reward-seeking and avoidance.

Christina Towers recognized as one of 2021’s Women of Influence in Life Sciences

Assistant Professor Christina Towers was recognized as one of 2021’s Women of Influence in the Life Sciences by the San Diego Business Journal. Towers focuses on uncovering how cancer cells recycle both their own nutrients and the power-generating structures called mitochondria in order to survive. Her research could lead to decreased cancer recurrence and improved cancer patient outcomes.

Tatyana Sharpee wins Delano Award for Computational Biosciences

Professor Tatyana Sharpee, who holds the Edwin K. Hunter Chair, was awarded the DeLano Award for Computational Biosciences from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The award recognizes the innovative development or application of computer technology to enhance research in the life sciences at the molecular level. Sharpee’s lab studies how the brain and other biological systems work and uses information theory to quantify the activity of neurons.

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Events

Salk Awards Medal of Research Excellence to Cori Bargmann

On November 11, the Institute awarded neurobiologist and geneticist Cori Bargmann its prestigious Medal for Research Excellence, which recognizes a scientist who has made significant contributions in the area of basic scientific research. Bargmann leads the science program at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and is the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor at The Rockefeller University.

Conquering Cancer Summit

On September 1, Salk supporters gathered in-person and virtually to attend the Institute’s Conquering Cancer Summit and learn how Salk researchers are working to cut cancer’s fuel lines to attack deadly tumors. The event highlighted Salk’s collaborative effort to exploit the connection between cancer and metabolism and uncover new therapeutic strategies.