Salk Scientist appointed inaugural holder of Françoise Gilot-Salk Chair

July 6, 2012

Salk Scientist appointed inaugural holder of Françoise Gilot-Salk Chair

July 6, 2012

LA JOLLA, CA—The Salk Institute is pleased to announce that faculty member Greg Lemke has been named the inaugural holder of the Françoise Gilot-Salk Chair, in recognition of his significant research accomplishments and scientific leadership.

Ferring Pharmaceuticals, a global, specialty biopharmaceuticals company that recently donated $10 million to provide funding for the highest research priorities at the Salk Institute, established the endowed chair in honor of Françoise Gilot-Salk –the internationally acclaimed artist and the widow of Dr. Jonas Salk.

“Selecting Greg as the recipient of this chair is further acknowledgement of his exceptional scientific accomplishments” said Salk president William R. Brody. “He epitomizes the Salk Institute’s legacy of excellence and innovation and I congratulate him on this well-deserved recognition”

Lemke, a professor in the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, is renowned for his distinguished contributions to understanding the roles that receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) pathways play in regulating nervous system development and immune system function. The endowment will help support his research on the role that TAM receptors play in immune regulation. These receptors, which were discovered in Lemke’s lab, are central inhibitors of the innate immune response to bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens. Diminished activity of the TAM system is associated with systemic Lupus, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and other human inflammatory syndromes, while activation of the TAMs facilitates virus infection.

Lemke is currently investigating agents that either activate or inhibit TAM receptor signaling to develop new therapeutic approaches to the treatment of human autoimmune diseases and viral infections.

Über das 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.