LA JOLLA—Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an inherited genetic developmental condition that strongly impacts brain development. Despite the syndrome stemming from altered genetic code for the single protein fragile X messenger ribonucleoprotein (FMRP), its symptoms are broad and variable; people with FXS can have a range of behavioral and physical symptoms, and around 40 percent of people with FXS also have autism spectrum disorder. There is currently no cure for FXS; treatments are limited to medications and therapies to help manage symptoms.
LA JOLLA—Fluorescent proteins have revolutionized science, enabling researchers to tag and visualize individual molecules in living cells, tissues, and animals. Using these tools, researchers have watched viruses infect cells in real time, observed cellular trash collection, and tracked the signaling that spurs tumor growth.
LA JOLLA—Salk Institute scientist Terrence Sejnowski, PhD, and Nobel Laureate Geoffrey Hinton, PhD, have received the Scientific Breakthrough Award from the World Digital Technology Academy (WDTA)’s inaugural World Digital and Frontier Technologies (WDFT) Awards. Sejnowski and Hinton are recognized for their pioneering research bridging biological intelligence and computational models, punctuated by their foundational development of Boltzmann machines. Their work provided “the architectural bedrock for deep learning, generative AI, and the large-scale systems now driving digital civilization.”
LA JOLLA—Every day, the liver packages fat and releases it into the bloodstream to fuel the body, supplying energy to the heart, muscles, and other organs during the active hours of the day. The liver does not release fat into the bloodstream at random. Like much of human physiology, this daily export of fat follows a precise rhythm, timed to the body’s internal clock. But what molecular signal tells the liver when to act?
LA JOLLA—Naked mole rats keep kingdoms underground. One queen bears all the children, while others maintain complex subterranean tunnels, forage for food, take care of newborns, and perform other necessary upkeep. This society hinges on the central pillar of a singular queen. What happens when her fertility declines or is impaired?
LA JOLLA—Plants can’t move to escape the heat like humans can—they are forced to adapt. As temperatures fluctuate, one key survival strategy is the ability of roots to keep growing, allowing plants to access water and nutrients further away in the soil. But how do plants sense temperature and translate it into growth?
LA JOLLA—Some of your most important life partners are the mitochondria that power all your cells. You and these little cellular powerhouses are in a 1.5-billion-year-old evolutionary relationship—but mitochondria brought some baggage. Mitochondria brought their own DNA with them when they joined with the bigger, more complex cells so long ago, and today that mitochondrial DNA influences human health.
LA JOLLA—Salk Institute scientist Sreekanth Chalasani, PhD, has received an award of up to $41.3 million from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), an agency within the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The funding will allow Chalasani and his team to transform his lab’s sonogenetics discovery—using ultrasound to precisely control mammalian cells—into a potential new therapy for a number of human conditions, such as peripheral neuropathies.
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute has recruited globally renowned cancer scientist Thales “PapaG” Papagiannakopoulos, PhD, to join its faculty as a professor beginning in September 2026. Papagiannakopoulos has served as a faculty member at NYU Grossman School of Medicine since 2015, where he is currently a tenured associate professor in the Department of Pathology at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine and the Perlmutter Cancer Center. He will bring to Salk additional expertise in cancer metabolism, cancer immunology, and tumor-host communications, opening new opportunities for collaboration within Salk’s National Cancer Institute (NCI) Designated Cancer Center and across the Institute.
LA JOLLA—Salk molecular biologist Gerald Shadel, PhD, and neuroscientist Tatyana Sharpee, PhD, have been elected as American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) 2025 Fellows. The honor recognizes scientists with distinguished scientific and social accomplishments, and AAAS Fellows become national and global science spokespersons for the rest of their lives.
LA JOLLA—The United States and Mexico have been in a historic megadrought since the turn of the century. For more than 25 years, the American Southwest has faced the severe social and economic consequences of this megadrought—including a $1.1 billion agricultural loss in California in 2021 alone. With these conditions persisting, how can we help crops withstand drought while minimizing yield loss?
LA JOLLA—Neurodegenerative diseases affect more than 57 million people globally. The incidence of these diseases, from Alzheimer’s to Parkinson’s to ALS and beyond, is expected to double every 20 years. Though scientists know aging is a major risk factor for neurodegenerative diseases, the full mechanisms behind aging’s impact remain unclear.
LA JOLLA—In little moments like when sipping coffee or licking an ice cream cone, it doesn’t seem like your body is pulling off a biological miracle. But it is. That cookie is not you—yet when you put it in your mouth, your body is able to tolerate it and process it without any detriment to your health in a process called oral tolerance. How does the human body make that decision between tolerance and rejection?
LA JOLLA—GLP-1s are building a reputation as “wonder drugs.” First characterized for their ability to improve insulin release and treat diabetes, the drugs were later found to promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health. In addition to these surprising bonus benefits is the ability of GLP-1 drugs to improve pancreatic beta cell health. But how, exactly, are they doing that?
LA JOLLA—How does our DNA store the massive amount of information needed to build a human being? And what happens when it’s stored incorrectly? Jesse Dixon, MD, PhD, has spent years studying the way this genome is folded in 3D space—knowing that dysfunctional folding can cause cancers and developmental disorders, including autism-related disorders. The latest research from his lab adds to a growing understanding that the genome’s 3D organization is constantly in flux. Using different types of human cells, his lab showed that this dynamic genome unfolding and refolding process occurs at different rates in different parts of the genome, which, in turn, influences gene regulation and expression.
LA JOLLA—A multi-institutional study led by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, and UC San Diego has uncovered new genetic rules that determine how immune cells, known as CD8 “killer” T cells, choose between becoming long-lasting, protective defenders or slipping into exhausted, dysfunctional states. Turning off just two of these genes allowed exhausted T cells to regain their tumor-killing capacity.
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute welcomes two new Nonresident Fellows, UC Berkeley professor Andrew Dillin, PhD, and UC San Diego professor Christopher Glass, MD, PhD. The two scientists join a group of eminent scientific advisors who guide Salk’s leadership.
LA JOLLA—The COVID-19 pandemic gave us tremendous perspective on how wildly symptoms and outcomes can vary between patients experiencing the same infection. How can two people infected by the same pathogen have such different responses?
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute mourns the passing of Harvey P. White (1934–2025), a distinguished leader, philanthropist, and dedicated supporter of the Institute. White died on December 18, 2025, at the age of 91.
LA JOLLA—As soon as you are wounded—whether from grabbing a hot pan or contracting the flu—you begin a unique journey through variable symptoms toward either recovery or death. This journey is called your disease trajectory, and it varies from person to person based on history, sex, age, and many other factors. Salk scientist Janelle Ayres, PhD, has spent decades unraveling the ways the body directs this journey—why some get sick and die while others go unscathed, and what sorts of methods could be used to shift trajectories of disease and death to ones of health and survival.
