Update on COVID-19 and Salk research
|
|
Watch this video for an update on COVID-19 and Salk research, featuring several Salk faculty.
|
|
Mysterious tuft cells found to play role in pancreatitis
|
|
The lab of
Professor
Geoffrey Wahl
has uncovered details into how specialized cells, called tuft cells, form during pancreatic inflammation as well as their surprising role in immunity. The work, published in
Frontiers in Physiology
, could lead to the development of new biomarkers to test for pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer.
|
|
New insights into how genes control courtship and aggression
|
|
Fruit flies, like many animals, engage in a variety of courtship and fighting behaviors. Now, the lab of Assistant Professor
Kenta Asahina
has uncovered the molecular mechanisms by which two sex-determining genes affect fruit fly behavior. The findings, published in
eLife
, demonstrate the complexity of the link between sex and behavior.
|
|
How plants sound the alarm about danger
|
|
|
|
One role of plant hormones is to perceive trouble—whether an insect attack, drought or intense heat or cold—and then signal to the rest of the plant to respond. Now, Professor
Joseph Ecker
’s lab reports new details about a plant hormone called jasmonic acid, revealing a complex communication network. The work, published in
Nature Plants
, could help members of Salk’s
Harnessing Plants Initiative
develop crops that are hardier and more able to withstand rapid climate change.
|
|
Wolfgang promoted to professor
|
|
The Institute is pleased to share that
Wolfgang Busch
was promoted to the rank of Professor for his notable contributions to plant biology. Busch makes groundbreaking discoveries into plants’ roots, which are critical for obtaining water and nutrients from the soil. He, with other Salk faculty, lead an ambitious effort to tackle climate change through the
Harnessing Plants Initiative
.
|
|
Plant geneticist Todd Michael joins Salk Institute
|
|
Todd Michael
recently returned to Salk as a research professor in the Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory, where he oversees his own research group as well as provides key expertise in genomics to the
Harnessing Plants Initiative
(HPI). Michael completed his postdoctoral research at Salk in 2007 under the direction of Professor
Joanne Chory
and now joins the
HPI leadership team
.
|
|
Leona Flores appointed executive director of Salk Cancer Center
|
|
Salk announced the hiring of Leona Flores as executive director of the
Salk Cancer Center
, to help oversee administrative and scientific management functions as a member of its leadership team and to provide decision strategy support to the Cancer Center’s director.
|
|
Salk scientist Ronald Evans receives a 2020 NOMIS Distinguished Scientist Award
|
|
Salk Professor
Ronald Evans
has been awarded a 2020 NOMIS Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award by the NOMIS Foundation. The $2.5M award will enable Evans to decode how different parts of the body, including the brain, endocrine glands, gut, liver, immune cells and the microbiome, cooperate to maintain health.
|
|
2020 Salk Women & Science Special Award Recipients
|
|
The Salk Women & Science program has announced this year’s Special Award recipients. Each year, the program provides crucial support to graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to pursue high-risk, high-reward research in stages too early to attract traditional funding. The awards are targeted toward supporting future scientific leaders who will also actively foster the increased participation of women and girls in science.
Congratulations to all of the 2020 Salk Women & Science Special Awards recipients!
|
|
Tatsuya Nobori awarded a Human Frontier Science Program fellowship
|
|
Tatsuya Nobori, a postdoctoral fellow in
Professor
Joe Ecker
’s lab, was awarded a three-year fellowship from the Human Frontier Science Program, which “funds innovative, ground-breaking projects that have the potential to advance knowledge in the applicants’ field of study or open a new approach to a research problem” for his project focused on profiling plant transcriptome and microbiota.
|
|
“Here’s how San Diego scientists are mounting a counterattack against the coronavirus”
|
|
“Un-Miracle Drugs Could Help Tame the Pandemic”
|
|
Ayres
also penned an editorial titled, "Surviving COVID-19: A disease tolerance perspective"
|
|
Professor
Greg Lemke
shared history of polio in context of COVID-19 on local media
|
|
Professor
Satchin Panda
was quoted in “When Coronavirus Closes Your Lab, Can Science Go On?”
|
|
Panda
penned an article titled, “Beyond sanitizing and social distancing – a healthy circadian rhythm may keep you sane and increase resilience to fight COVID-19”
|
|
Staff Scientist
Uri Manor
was profiled as “Someone San Diego should know”
|
|
Data scientist Jason Fleischer published a commentary titled, "Social distancing has probably saved more than 1,200 lives in San Diego County. Here’s the proof."
|
|
The Institute was featured in a number of articles in the month of April, celebrating the anniversary of the Salk polio vaccine being declared successful:
"How the deadly polio epidemic changed American life for decades before a vaccine was found"
|
|
World of Wonder: The Man who Cured Polio
|
|
Highlighting Louis Kahn's Salk Institute in La Jolla
|
|
This year we are reminded of the vision and legacy of our founder, Jonas Salk. Your gift will ensure the Institute is able to build on its six decades of scientific excellence and pursue the most promising scientific possibilities when they arise. Thank you for considering our request to work together
to dare to make dreams into reality.
|
|
Salk architecture is beautiful
This month’s image is of the courtyard—characterized as “a façade to the sky” by architect Luis Barragán.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
