In the News
Recent Salk news from the Conquering Cancer team
Award-winning cancer researcher to join Salk faculty
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute is excited to welcome Assistant Professor Christina Towers, a top researcher in the field of cancer biology. Towers will join Salk’s renowned NCI-designated Cancer Center to …
Salk Assistant Professor Dannielle Engle awarded over $1 million to study impact of tobacco use on pancreatic cancer
LA JOLLA—Salk Institute Assistant Professor Dannielle Engle has been awarded a New Investigator Award from the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program (TRDRP) to examine how tobacco use promotes cellular changes that …
Salk Institute and BridgeBio Pharma collaborate to advance therapies for genetically driven disease
LA JOLLA and PALO ALTO, Calif.—The Salk Institute and BridgeBio Pharma, Inc. (Nasdaq: BBIO) today announced a three-year collaboration agreement formed to advance cutting-edge academic discoveries in genetically driven diseases …
Salk physician-scientist Edward Stites receives NIH Director’s New Innovator Award
LA JOLLA—Salk Institute Assistant Professor Edward Stites has been named an NIH Director’s New Innovator for 2020 as part of the National Institutes of Health’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research Program. The award “supports …
Imaging method highlights new role for cellular “skeleton” protein
LA JOLLA—While your skeleton helps your body to move, fine skeleton-like filaments within your cells likewise help cellular structures to move. Now, Salk researchers have developed a new imaging method …
The Salk Institute welcomes top scientists in cancer biology and biophysics
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute is pleased to welcome two new assistant professors in the fields of cancer biology and biophysics, respectively. Daniel Hollern and Pallav Kosuri will bring fresh perspectives …
How cells solve their identity crisis
LA JOLLA—Cancer is often the result of DNA mutations or problems with how cells divide, which can lead to cells “forgetting” what type of cell they are or how to …
Location, location, location: the cell membrane facilitates RAS protein interactions
LA JOLLA—Many cancer medications fail to effectively target the most commonly mutated cancer genes in humans, called RAS. Now, Salk Professor Geoffrey Wahl and a team of scientists have uncovered …
Mysterious tuft cells found to play role in pancreatitis
LA JOLLA—Persistent inflammation of the pancreas (chronic pancreatitis) is a known risk factor for developing pancreatic cancer, the third-deadliest cancer in the United States. Tuft cells—cells sensitive to chemical (chemosensory) …
Salk Institute appoints Leona Flores as executive director of Salk Cancer Center
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute announced the hiring of Leona Flores, PhD, as executive director of the Salk Cancer Center, to help oversee administrative and scientific management functions as a member …
Mysterious microproteins have major implications for human disease
LA JOLLA—As the tools to study biology improve, researchers are beginning to uncover details into microproteins, small components that appear to be key to some cellular processes, including those involved …
Salk scientist Tony Hunter receives National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award
LA JOLLA, CA—Salk scientist Tony Hunter has received a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Outstanding Investigator Award (OIA), which supports accomplished leaders in cancer research. Hunter, who is an American Cancer Society …
Mapping normal breast development to better understand cancer
LA JOLLA—Breast cancer is one of the most prevalent cancers, and some forms rank among the most difficult to treat. Its various types and involvement of many different cells makes …
Discovery of how colorectal cancer drug works will help more patients
LA JOLLA—Colorectal cancer is a common lethal disease, and treatment decisions are increasingly influenced by which genes are mutated within each patient. Some patients with a certain gene mutation benefit …
Two therapeutic targets identified for deadly lung cancer
LA JOLLA—The vast majority of deadly lung cancer cases (85 percent) are termed non-small-cell lung carcinomas (NSCLCs), which often contain a mutated gene called LKB1. Salk Institute researchers have now …
Unlocking therapies for hard-to-treat lung cancers
LA JOLLA—Around 85 percent of lung cancers are classified as non-small-cell lung cancers, or NSCLCs. Some patients with these cancers can be treated with targeted genetic therapies, and some …
Sugars that coat proteins are a possible drug target for pancreatitis
LA JOLLA—Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that accounts for 275,000 hospitalizations in the United States annually. Patients who suffer from hereditary pancreatitis have a 40 to 50 percent lifetime risk …
Salk scientist Diana Hargreaves named Pew-Stewart Scholar for innovative cancer research
LA JOLLA – (June 14, 2019) Diana Hargreaves, an assistant professor in Salk’s Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, has been named a 2019 Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research as part …