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Research Areas

AIDS

Researchers at the Salk Institute are making major contributions to understanding the biology of the AIDS virus, HIV. This knowledge may lead to the development of effective new strategies and therapies to prevent and treat the disease. By learning more about the life cycle of the virus, how it integrates itself into a host cell and how it replicates, Salk investigators can explore new targets for intervention.
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Alzheimer's and Aging

The Salk Institute has a powerful cadre of world-class researchers who focus on understanding the brain and the aging process. They are committed to discovering the fundamental causes of neurodegenerative diseases, ranging from Alzheimer's disease to Parkinson's disease.
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Autism

According to accepted dogma, the brain responds to sensory experiences somewhat like an electronic bucket brigade, with incoming signals passed from one region to the next in a somewhat linear fashion.
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Birth Defects

Birth defect is a catchall term used to describe physical malformations, functional abnormalities and metabolic malfunctions present at the time of birth. Some birth defects are the result of environmental influences, some genetic and some the combination of the two. What can we do to reduce the odds of genetic birth defects? This is a question that Salk scientists address everyday. They are looking at:
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Cancer

The Salk Institute became one of the first National Cancer Institute-designated basic research cancer centers in the early 1970s. For more than a quarter of a century, Salk investigators have been focusing on a range of critical issues related to the underlying causes of cancer.
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Diabetes

Diabetes currently affects 24 million individuals in the United States alone. The incidence of adult onset or Type II diabetes has increased 15 percent over the last two years, targeting nearly a quarter of individuals over 60. Worldwide, the incidence of diabetes is predicted to double by 2030, accounting for nearly 370 million people. By any measure, this disease has reached epidemic proportions.
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Gene Therapy

Hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy and macular degeneration are just a few of the genetic-based abnormalities that might someday benefit from gene therapy using Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
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Plant Biology Research

For the last quarter century, Salk plant biologists have focused their efforts on the ragged little mustard weed known as Arabidopsis thaliana. With the completion of the Arabidopsis Genome Project, they are now working on identifying the products and functions for all of its genes – knowledge that can be applied to agriculture and may one day help improve the quality and quantity of the world's food supply.
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Vision Research

More than half of the human cerebral cortex is devoted to processing vision. Salk Institute investigators seek to understand not only how the brain and the eyes work together in order to see, but also how the brain processes visual information and integrates it to provide a coherent view of a chaotic world. They hope to better understand other complex issues as well, such as what role the visual system plays in the phenomenon we call consciousness.
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Williams Syndrome

The Salk Institute's Laboratory for Cognitive Neuroscience examines how the brain is organized in normal individuals, as well as individuals afflicted with a variety of brain disorders, including autism, Down syndrome, and Williams syndrome – the latter is a genetic disorder that affects one in approximately 20,000 births. Genetic work has demonstrated that Williams syndrome is associated with the deletion of a specific part of the human chromosome 7. Children affected by it share a variety of physical traits, including heart defects and a distinct set of facial abnormalities.
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