Dear Friends,
This issue marks the end of our “Year of Healthy Aging,” but our commitment to this cause shows no signs of slowing down. Thanks to our generous supporters, Salk’s Unlocking Healthy Aging Initiative will continue to champion research on this topic for years to come.
Our approach to healthy aging is rooted in collaboration and interdisciplinary thinking. We’re excited to apply this same energy to the Salk Institute’s new Neuroimmunology Initiative—a deep dive into the complex interplay between the immune and nervous systems. This underappreciated crosstalk plays a vital role in health and disease, and Salk scientists are at the forefront of this emerging field.
With initial funding from the NOMIS Foundation, the Neuroimmunology Initiative empowers our team to tackle critical scientific questions that could open entirely new avenues of research. Ultimately, this work may pave the way for innovative therapies for a range of disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, long COVID, and several forms of cancer.
I invite you to read on to meet Salk Fellow Talmo Pereira, whose AI-based motion-tracking technology is helping our scientists answer a surprising range of research questions. Also get to know Kay Watt, a program manager helping to mitigate climate change through our Harnessing Plants Initiative. Finally, learn how postdoctoral researcher Pau Esparza-Moltó’s research on mitochondria ushers our healthy aging science into the new year.
Lastly, we pay our respects to Salk Professor Joanne Chory, pioneering plant biologist and founding director of our Harnessing Plants Initiative. She passed away last month and we miss her immensely, but her legacy will live on.
I hope you find this issue of Inside Salk magazine inspiring, and I wish you a wonderful holiday season and a healthy, happy 2025.
Thank you for being an essential part of our mission.
Warmest regards,
Gerald Joyce
Salk Institute President
