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Dear Salk community,
Salk science continues to make headlines, and on the Institute front, we have news of faculty promotions and new Trustees.
A study out of Ronald Evans' lab may lead to an "exercise-in-a-pill" for people who cannot exercise aerobically due to health or mobility issues. From the lab of Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte came information about new technology to edit the epigenome, as well as work comparing induced pluripotent stem cells derived from identical twins that has important implications for research and therapeutics.
I am also pleased to share that Janelle Ayres and Axel Nimmerjahn were each promoted to the rank of associate professor, and Jay T. Flatley and Joon Yun have joined Salk's Board of Trustees.
Please read on for more information.
Yours in Discovery,
Elizabeth Blackburn
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"Exercise-in-a-pill" boosts athletic endurance by 70 percent
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From left: Wanda Waizenegger, Weiwei Fan, Ryan Lin, Ronald Evans, Ruth Yu and Mingxiao He.
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Although muscles can burn either fat or sugar during exercise, the brain prefers the latter for energy, which is why runners who "hit the wall" experience both physical and mental fatigue when they use up their supply of glucose. The lab of Ronald Evans showed how a dose of a chemical compound leads the body to make the switch from using sugar to using fat, leading to increased physical stamina without endurance training.
In mouse studies, the chemical not only helped sedentary, "couch potato" mice resist weight gain, but also prompted them to run 70 percent longer than a control group of sedentary mice. The study, which appeared in Cell Metabolism on May 2, 2017, deepens our understanding of aerobic endurance as well as offers people with heart conditions, lung disease, type 2 diabetes or other health limitations the hope of achieving the benefits of exercise pharmacologically.
Click on a logo below to read media coverage of this research:
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Novel tool confers targeted, stable editing of epigenome in human stem cells
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From left (back): Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Jun Wu, Keiichiro Suzuki, Paloma Martinez Redondo (front): Maxim Shokhirev, Yuta Takahashi, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, Reyna Hernandez-Benitez
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The lab of
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
has developed a novel technology to correct disease-causing aberrations in the chemical tags on DNA that affect how genes are expressed. These types of chemical modifications, collectively referred to as the epigenome, are increasingly being considered as important as the genome itself in development and disease. The team used the tool to model mutations in tags associated with colon cancer and to restore the proper tags in stem cells derived from people with Angelman syndrome.
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Identical twins; not-so-identical stem cells
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte's lab together with
collaborators at the University of California, San Diego, have shed light on a longstanding question about what leads to variation in stem cells by comparing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) derived from identical twins. When they reprogrammed the adult skin cells of twins to their original, embryonic state, the researchers found key epigenetic differences
--- differences in the chemical tags attached to DNA that dictate when genes are expressed. The work has important implications for the use of iPSCs in research and therapeutics.
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Salk promotes two dynamic scientists who study the microbiome and neurobiology
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Janelle Ayres and Axel Nimmerjahn
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Janelle Ayres
and
Axel Nimmerjahn
were each promoted to the rank of associate professor. The promotions were based on recommendations by Salk faculty and nonresident fellows, and approved by President Elizabeth Blackburn and the Institute's Board of Trustees on April 21.
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Salk Institute welcomes new trustees Jay T. Flatley and Joon Yun
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Jay Flatley and Joon Yun |
The Salk Institute Board of Trustees welcomes its newest trustees, Jay T. Flatley, MS, and Joon Yun, MD. Chaired by Ted Waitt, the Salk Board helps drive the strategic direction of the Institute founded by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk in 1960.
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Your support makes it possible for Salk to recruit and retain top-tier scientists, acquire the latest cutting-edge technology, and fuel innovative research initiatives, all of which provide extraordinary opportunities for scientific discovery.
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Reunite with friends, network with
prospective employees and visit with Salk faculty.
If you're a Salk alum, join us Wednesday, May 24, at 6:00 p.m.
for
the annual Salk Alumni Mixer w
ith special guest speaker Suhaila White.
(858) 453-4100 x1201
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SAVE THE DATE
22nd Annual Symphony at Salk
August, 26, 2017
Tickets go on sale on July 5, 2017. Sponsorships available NOW!
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Salk Institute science images
This month's image comes from
a recent press release from the lab of Ronald Evans
. The image displays the partial view of a mouse calf muscle stained for different types of muscle fibers: oxidative slow-twitch (blue), oxidative fast-twitch (green), and glycolytic fast-twitch (red). Credit: Salk Institute/Waitt Center.
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