August 1, 2025
LA JOLLA—The Salk Institute announces a landmark partnership with luxury skincare brand La Mer. Through the new La Mer Fellowship in Healthy Aging, the company will fund a three-year postdoctoral position focused on foundational research on human aging at the molecular level.
The inaugural fellowship has been awarded to Ankita Chadda, a postdoctoral researcher in the lab of Salk Assistant Professor Agnieszka Kendrick. Kendrick’s team studies cellular transport—the system of microscopic highways and specialized protein vehicles that move nearly everything inside a cell. This system is indispensable to cellular function and survival. With La Mer’s support, Chadda will use cutting-edge technologies to explore how aging disrupts cellular transport in neurons. This work may reveal new strategies to prevent or reverse transport-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease.
“At the Salk Institute, we are driven by the pursuit of fundamental discoveries that improve human health,” says Gerald Joyce, president of the Salk Institute. “We are deeply grateful to La Mer for supporting this mission by funding research into aging at a molecular level and empowering the next generation of scientists. Through this unique partnership, we can apply our scientific expertise to explore new frontiers in healthy aging.”
Postdoctoral trainees like Chadda are essential to biomedical science. These trainees have recently earned a PhD, MD, or both. With a faculty mentor, they assist in or lead their own research projects as they take steps toward establishing their careers as independent investigators. Postdoctoral researchers and their work are typically funded by federal or private grants or fellowships, making the new La Mer-funded fellowship a unique approach to empowering the next generation of scientific leaders.
“La Mer has always believed in the power of bioenergetics to enhance skin’s natural renewal,” says Sandra Main, global brand president of La Mer. “Our partnership with the Salk Institute reflects our deep commitment to advancing the science of cellular energy, ensuring that our innovations continue to push the boundaries of aging science. As a brand founded by a true visionary, we are privileged to honor our legacy by partnering with an innovative, world-class institute, with some of the most globally renowned scientists.”
Together, Salk and La Mer will explore the intersection of molecular biology and energy metabolism to better understand how the aging process can be slowed—or even reversed. The insights from Chadda’s research may inform future innovations in both medicine and skincare.
About La Mer:
La Mer is a brand that represents hope, healing, and one man’s deep respect for the power of the living sea. It all began over 50 years ago when Dr. Max Huber, a physicist, embarked on a healing quest after a lab accident. Twelve years and 6,000 experiments later, Miracle Broth™—the legendary elixir—was born. Since joining The Estée Lauder Companies in 1995, La Mer has become the most coveted skin care brand in the world.
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Unlocking the secrets of life itself is the driving force behind the Salk Institute. Our team of world-class, award-winning scientists pushes the boundaries of knowledge in areas such as neuroscience, cancer research, aging, immunobiology, plant biology, computational biology and more. Founded by Jonas Salk, developer of the first safe and effective polio vaccine, the Institute is an independent, nonprofit research organization and architectural landmark: small by choice, intimate by nature, and fearless in the face of any challenge.
