April 27, 2010
LA JOLLA—Salk scientist Fred H. Gage, a professor in the Laboratory for Genetics and the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Diseases, has been elected to the American Philosophical Society (APS). Founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin and modeled after the Royal Society of London, the APS was the first organization in America to promote scientific endeavors and knowledge.
Gage, one of the most highly cited neuroscientist worldwide, joins a distinguished group of former members who include Albert Einstein, Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, past and present Salk faculty members Renato Dulbecco, Sydney Brenner, Francis H. C. Crick, Ronald M. Evans, Inder Verma, Tony Hunter and former Salk president Augustus B. Kinzel.
Gage’s laboratory concentrates on the adult central nervous system and unexpected plasticity and adaptability to environmental stimulation that remains throughout the life of all mammals. He and his colleagues showed that, contrary to accepted dogma, human beings are capable of growing new nerve cells throughout life.
Small populations of immature nerve cells are found in the adult mammalian brain, which are generated in a process called neurogenesis. Gage is working to understand how these cells can be induced to become mature functioning nerve cells in the adult brain and spinal cord.
Gage’s lab also showed that environmental enrichment and physical exercise can enhance the growth of new brain cells and his team is studying the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms that may be harnessed to repair the aged and damaged brain and spinal cord.
The American Philosophical Society has more than 1000 members worldwide, 80 percent of whom are from the United States and 250 have received the Nobel Prize. Election to the APS recognizes outstanding academic accomplishments.
About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Das Salk Institute for Biological Studies ist eine der weltweit führenden Institutionen für Grundlagenforschung, an der international renommierte Fakultätsmitglieder grundlegende Fragen der Biowissenschaften in einem einzigartigen, kollaborativen und kreativen Umfeld untersuchen. Mit dem Fokus auf Entdeckungen und die Ausbildung zukünftiger Forschergenerationen leisten Salk-Wissenschaftler bahnbrechende Beiträge zu unserem Verständnis von Krebs, Alterung, Alzheimer, Diabetes und Infektionskrankheiten durch die Untersuchung von Neurowissenschaften, Genetik, Zell- und Pflanzenbiologie sowie verwandten Disziplinen.
Die Leistungen der Fakultät wurden mit zahlreichen Auszeichnungen gewürdigt, darunter Nobelpreise und Mitgliedschaften in der National Academy of Sciences. Das 1960 vom Polio-Impfstoff-Pionier Dr. Jonas Salk gegründete Institut ist eine unabhängige gemeinnützige Organisation und ein architektonisches Wahrzeichen.
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