In the News
Recent Salk news from the Conquering Cancer team
Salk Institute celebrates 50th anniversary and renewal of National Cancer Institute designation
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute marks 50 years as a National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Cancer Center with good news: NCI has renewed the designation and grant support for another five years.
With …
How drugs can target the thick “scar tissue” of pancreatic cancer
LA JOLLA—Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest cancers—only about one in eight patients survives five years after diagnosis. Those dismal statistics are in part due to the thick, nearly …
Genetic architecture may be key to using peacekeeping immune cells to treat autoimmunity or fight cancer
LA JOLLA—Regulatory T cells are specialized immune cells that suppress the immune response and prevent the body from attacking its own cells. Understanding how these cells work is key to …
Salk Institute’s Christina Towers receives NIH New Innovator Award
LA JOLLA—Salk Institute Assistant Professor Christina Towers received a five-year, $2.85 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director’s New Innovator Award from the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program. …
Two Salk Institute faculty members earn V Foundation awards for cancer research
LA JOLLA (September 25, 2023)—Salk Institute Assistant Professors Christina Towers and Deepshika Ramanan were named V Scholars by the V Foundation for Cancer Research. They will each receive $600,000 over …
Rewiring tumor mitochondria enhances the immune system’s ability to recognize and fight cancer
LA JOLLA—Immunotherapy, which uses the body’s own immune system to fight cancer, is an effective treatment option, yet many patients do not respond to it. Thus, cancer researchers are seeking …
Reducing stress on T cells makes them better cancer fighters
LA JOLLA—Even for killer T cells—specialized immune cells—seeking and destroying cancer cells around the clock can be exhausting. If scientists can understand why killer T cells become exhausted, then they …
“Super-enhancer” super-charges pancreatic tumor growth
LA JOLLA—Pancreatic cancers are among the most aggressive, deadly tumor types and, for years, researchers have struggled to develop effective drugs against the tumors. Now, Salk researchers have identified a …
Salk physician-scientist Jesse Dixon named Rita Allen Foundation Award Scholar
LA JOLLA—Salk Institute physician-scientist Jesse Dixon has been named a Rita Allen Foundation Award Scholar, a distinction given to biomedical scientists whose research holds exceptional promise for revealing new pathways …
High-fat diets alter gut bacteria, boosting colorectal cancer risk in mice
The inner folds of the intestines (purple) are different in healthy mice (left) compared to mice fed a high-fat diet (right). Salk researchers identified changes in bacteria and bile acids …
Using the body’s “invisible scalpel” to remove brain cancer
LA JOLLA—Glioblastoma, the most common and deadly form of brain cancer, grows rapidly to invade and destroy healthy brain tissue. The tumor sends out cancerous tendrils into the brain that …
Structural biologist Agnieszka Kendrick joins Salk faculty to study cellular transport
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute welcomes Assistant Professor Agnieszka Kendrick, a structural biologist who studies how cells recognize and transport cargo within the cell.
“Aga is an innovative scientist already making waves …
Mapping the development of infection-fighting immune cells
LA JOLLA—The immune system protects the body from invaders, such as bacteria, viruses, or tumors, with its intricate network of proteins, cells, and organs. Specialized immune cells, called cytotoxic T …
Salk Institute launches collaboration with Autobahn Labs to accelerate drug discovery
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute and Autobahn Labs, an early-stage drug discovery incubator, will work together to identify and advance promising initial scientific discoveries through the preliminary steps of drug discovery …
Salk Institute promotes five faculty members in genetics, structural biology, immunobiology, and neuroscience
LA JOLLA—Five Salk Institute faculty members have been promoted for their notable, innovative contributions to science. These faculty members have demonstrated leadership in their disciplines, pushing the boundaries of basic …
Salk Professor Susan Kaech elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
LA JOLLA—Salk Institute Professor Susan Kaech, director of the NOMIS Center for Immunobiology and Microbial Pathogenesis, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She shares the …
Cracking the case of mitochondrial repair and replacement in metabolic stress
LA JOLLA—Scientists often act as detectives, piecing together clues that alone may seem meaningless but together crack the case. Professor Reuben Shaw has spent nearly two decades piecing together such …
New combination of drugs works together to reduce lung tumors in mice
LA JOLLA—Cancer treatments have long been moving toward personalization—finding the right drugs that work for a patient’s unique tumor, based on specific genetic and molecular patterns. Many of these targeted …
