Salk Institute

"These therapies have transformed outcomes for patients with leukemia, lung cancer, gastrointestinal tumors, and many other malignancies."

"His work provided the molecular blueprint for targeted cancer therapies, enabling the development of more than 50 FDA-approved tyrosine kinase inhibitors that precisely block cancer-driving signals."

"In 1979, while studying how certain cancer-causing viruses alter cells, Dr. Hunter uncovered a previously unknown cellular process: tyrosine phosphorylation."

Congratulations to Salk scientist Tony Hunter, recipient of the National Foundation for Cancer Research 2025 Szent-Györgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research.

His pioneering discovery redefined our understanding of cancer and opened new paths for treatment.

Check out the Beyond Lab Walls podcast and meet Joe Herdy.

His work dives into how our neurons can carry different sets of DNA—and what that means for aging and Alzheimer’s disease.

From “zombie cells” to HIV drug inspiration, this episode covers it all. www.salk.edu/blw-podcast/...

In the waters of San Diego’s Mission Bay, a new hybrid seagrass has begun to grow. It is a cross between shallow-water Zostera marina and deeper-water Zostera pacifica, whose tolerance for low-light conditions is favorable as coastal waters become increasingly murky.

www.salk.edu/news-release....

Epigenetic changes regulate gene expression, but what regulates epigenetics? - Salk Institute for Biological Studies LA JOLLA—All the cells in an organism have the exact same genetic sequence. What differs across cell types is their epigenetics—meticulously placed chemical tags that influence which genes are express...

Salk researchers are using a little flowering plant to answer the question: How do cells generate new epigenetic change? The answer marks a major shift in plant biology and may inform future epigenetic engineering strategies with medical and agricultural applications.

www.salk.edu/news-release...

🦠Reuben Shaw, cancer biologist who studies the connections between cancer and metabolism

🌿Joseph Nery, research assistant in Ecker's lab where he lends his expertise in single-cell genetic and epigenetic sequencing techniques and computational analyses

🧠Rusty Gage, neuroscientist who studies the plasticity, adaptability, and diversity of the brain

🧠Kay Tye, neuroscientist who studies the neural circuit basis of emotion and how it shapes social interaction, reward-seeking, and avoidance behaviors

🍎Christian Metallo, bioengineer who studies how our body metabolizes molecules like glucose, fats, and amino acids to generate the building blocks and energy we need to perform life-sustaining tasks

💤Satchin Panda, biologist and expert on the cellular and molecular basis of circadian rhythms

🌿Joseph Ecker, plant and molecular biologist who researches genomic and epigenomic regulation in plants and mammals.

🔬Ronald Evans, microbiologist and expert on the role of hormone receptors in reproduction, growth, and metabolism

The highly cited researchers include Salk scientists Joseph Ecker, Ronald Evans, Rusty Gage, Christian Metallo, Satchin Panda, Reuben Shaw, Kay Tye, and Joseph Nery.

Being a highly cited researcher shows how often others build on one’s work, highlighting its influence in advancing knowledge and guiding future discovery. At Salk, our discoveries often serve as a foundation for asking bigger questions that lead to bigger solutions to the world's challenges.

Salk is honored to have faculty named in this year’s Highly Cited Researchers list by Clarivate. The 2025 list includes 6,868 researchers from 60 countries who have demonstrated “significant and broad influence in their fields of research.”

www.salk.edu/news-release...

TODAY AT 9 A.M. PT/ 12 P.M.!

Join us for a special *live* podcast episode exploring how the government shutdown impacts our research and the best way for science to move forward.

Be the first to hear exclusive insights and learn how science today shapes the world of tomorrow.

salk.edu/cant-wait

The researchers captured these important structural changes for the first time, creating novel 3D models of integrase in both roles. Now, scientists can connect the dots between integrase’s form and function to develop compounds that more precisely disrupt integrase and treat HIV.

How HIV’s shape-shifting protein reveals clues for smarter drug design - Salk Institute for Biological Studies LA JOLLA—The rate of HIV infection continues to climb globally. Around 40 million people live with HIV-1, the most common HIV strain. While symptoms can now be better managed with lifelong treatment, ...

One promising treatment avenue is disrupting HIV replication by impairing the function of integrase, a flexible protein that incorporates viral genetic material into the human host genome early in the HIV replication cycle, then alters its structure to help HIV again later in replication.

#HIV

How HIV’s shape-shifting protein reveals clues for smarter drug design - Salk Institute for Biological Studies LA JOLLA—The rate of HIV infection continues to climb globally. Around 40 million people live with HIV-1, the most common HIV strain. While symptoms can now be better managed with lifelong treatment, ...

How does learning about a virus help us treat it?

Salk scientists are piecing together the details of HIV replication in search of new treatment avenues for the tens of millions of people living with HIV globally.

A thread🧵

Breakthroughs begin with a question, a quiet moment of curiosity before the cure - before the solution. With government funding in limbo, ideas stall, and time can slip away. But Salk refuses to stand still, because #ScienceCan’tWait

Your support keeps discovery alive.
www.salk.edu/support-us/s...

Salk scientist Satchin Panda took the TEDxBoston stage yesterday with a powerful talk on "Unlocking Longevity." His insights on how circadian rhythms and daily habits impact healthy aging are a must-watch.

tedxboston.com/portfolio/un...

#UnlockingLongevity #TEDxBoston #CircadianRhythms

The Rising Stars Symposium applications are now open. It brings outstanding postdoctoral researchers (in years 3–4 of their training) to Salk to present their work, connect with faculty 1:1, and explore career opportunities,

Application Deadline: December 15, 2025

www.salk.edu/about/our-co...

The findings will help neuroscientists better understand and treat memory issues in mental disorders such as schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury (TBI), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has selected Salk neuroscientist Terrence Sejnowski to receive a 2025 NIH Director's Pioneer Award, supporting his lab's use of advanced computational techniques to analyze and model the neural circuit dynamics of working memory.

www.salk.edu/news-release...

Science is a shared fabric- each generation weaves its discoveries into the fabric of the next. This week's Nobel honors one vital thread in that tapestry. Here’s to the future our Salk immunologists are stitching together.

#Nobel2025 #Immunology #RegulatoryTcells #SalkScience #ScienceCantWait

🥜 Jamie Blum investigates oral tolerance—the immune system’s calm, noninflammatory response to most foods—opening possibilities for new ways to prevent or treat food allergies.

🤰 Deepshika Ramanan studies how maternal immunity during pregnancy and breastfeeding can shape a baby’s regulatory T cells and influence lifelong disease susceptibility.

🧵 Ye Zheng explores how regulatory T cells develop and function, identifying proteins that could be targeted to boost their protective role in autoimmune diseases.

At the Salk Institute, we’re continuing to unravel the intricate threads of immunity that these scientists first revealed. Our researchers are building on that legacy.

Congratulations to Mary Brunkow, Fred Ramsdell, and Shimon Sakaguchi on winning the 2025 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for uncovering regulatory T cells — the immune system’s peacekeepers that protect our bodies from attacking themselves.

A thread:

At Salk, more than half of our research is powered by federal funding. The government might be shut down, but Salk's science continues.

Why? Because cancer doesn't wait. Alzheimer's disease doesn't wait. So science can't wait either.

Donate today: www.salk.edu/support-us/s...