Research Areas
- AIDS
By learning more about the life cycle of the AIDS virus, HIV, how it integrates itself into a host cell and how it replicates, Salk investigators can explore new targets for intervention.
- Alzheimer's and Aging
Salk scientists are committed to discovering the fundamental causes of aging and neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease.
- Autism
Neuroscientists and computational biologists at the Salk Institute are exploring new avenues in brain research that may help explain the underlying brain dysfunctions involved in autism.
- Birth Defects
Some birth defects are the result of environmental influences, some are genetic and some the combination of the two. Salk scientists explore the complex events that govern human development.
- Cancer
For more than a quarter of a century, Salk investigators have focused on a range of critical issues related to the underlying causes of cancers. Their discoveries have led to new therapies and promising new directions of research.
- Diabetes and Metabolism
Salk researchers are trying to understand the human metabolism and what happens when this biological system breaks down. The problem is more important than ever, given the increasing burden that diabetes and other metabolic dysfunctions have on human health and society.
- Gene Therapy
Hemophilia, cystic fibrosis, cerebral palsy and macular degeneration are just a few of the genetic-based abnormalities that might someday by ameliorated by gene therapies pioneered at the Salk Institute.
- Plant Biology
Salk plant scientists are working to identifying the products and functions of plant genes, knowledge that can be applied to agriculture and the production of biofuels and drugs.
- Vision Research
More than half of the human cerebral cortex is devoted to processing vision. Salk Institute investigators seek to understand how the brain and the eyes work together in order to see, and how the brain processes visual information and integrates it to provide a coherent view of a chaotic world.
- 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.
