Healthy Aging

Overview

Salk Institute for Biological Studies - Healthy Aging - Overview

Overview



Salk’s ultimate goal is to find personalized interventions that increase the number of healthy and productive years of human life, known as our health span.

Salk is home to several experts in the known hallmarks of aging—for example, genome instability, mitochondrial dysfunction, and inflammation—but the secret sauce is that they interact with each other to understand how these hallmarks interact with each other, in contrast to the typical siloed approach. In addition to a person’s inherited genetics, Salk researchers are also deeply concerned with how environmental factors and lifestyles affect the trajectory of aging.

To drive this cross-disciplinary synergy, Salk established the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research in 2009 with a grant from the Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, and the San Diego Nathan Shock Center of Excellence in the Basic Biology of Aging in 2020, as a consortium that includes Salk, UC San Diego, and Sanford Burnham Prebys.

Research


Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but it is not a normal part of aging. It causes memory loss and cognitive issues that interfere with daily life. There are no cures for this progressive, ultimately fatal disease, which affects more than six million Americans. At Salk, we are searching for the root causes of Alzheimer’s disease, exploring how aging cells within the brain, along with genetic mutations and abnormal proteins, contribute to the disorder.

Nicola Allen, PhD

Associate Professor

Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory

Joseph Ecker, PhD

Professor

Genomic Analysis Laboratory, Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory

Director, Genomic Analysis Laboratory

Rusty Gage, PhD

Professor

Laboratory of Genetics

Greg Lemke, PhD

Professor Emeritus

Pamela Maher, PhD

Research Professor

Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory

Christian Metallo, PhD

Professor

Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory

Axel Nimmerjahn, PhD

Professor

Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center

Satchidananda Panda, PhD

Professor

Regulatory Biology Laboratory

John Reynolds, PhD

Professor

Systems Neurobiology Laboratory

Terrence Sejnowski, PhD

Professor and Laboratory Head

Computational Neurobiology Laboratory

Cardiovascular Disease

Cardiovascular diseases are disorders of the heart and blood vessels, and they are the leading cause of death globally. Cardiovascular diseases affect hundreds of millions of people each year and include conditions such as coronary heart disease, pulmonary embolism, heart attack, and stroke. Some contributing factors are behavioral, such as tobacco use, while other factors are unavoidable, such as aging. At Salk, we research the contributing factors on the genetic and molecular level to better understand how these conditions come about and how to prevent them.

Ronald Evans, PhD

Professor and Director

Gene Expression Laboratory

Pallav Kosuri, PhD

Assistant Professor

Integrative Biology Laboratory

Greg Lemke, PhD

Professor Emeritus

Axel Nimmerjahn, PhD

Professor

Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center

Satchidananda Panda, PhD

Professor

Regulatory Biology Laboratory

Samuel Pfaff, PhD

Professor

Gene Expression Laboratory

Alan Saghatelian, PhD

Professor

Clayton Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology

Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is an age-related brain disorder that causes uncontrolled movements, such as shaking, stiffness, and difficulty with balance. The disease is linked to reduced levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, a molecule critical for brain function. Current treatment options are limited, and there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. At Salk, we are identifying the mutated genes and proteins involved in Parkinson’s disease and tracing how these factors damage the brain. We are also charting the brain centers altered by Parkinson’s disease to understand how to block or even reverse the effects of this condition.

Edward Callaway, PhD

Professor

Systems Neurobiology Laboratory

Martyn Goulding, PhD

Professor

Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory

Axel Nimmerjahn, PhD

Professor

Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center

Samuel Pfaff, PhD

Professor

Gene Expression Laboratory

Terrence Sejnowski, PhD

Professor and Laboratory Head

Computational Neurobiology Laboratory

Regeneration

The body is constantly repairing or replacing its damaged cells, tissues, and organs. But can this regenerative process be harnessed to target dysfunctional cells in disorders and diseases? To address this question, Salk researchers are advancing our understanding of early human development, disease onset, and aging; rejuvenating old cells in a process called cellular reprogramming; and addressing the critical need for transplantable organs.

Pallav Kosuri, PhD

Assistant Professor

Integrative Biology Laboratory

Christian Metallo, PhD

Professor

Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory

Geoffrey Wahl, PhD

Professor Emeritus