Where cures begin.

Salk Institute 08 | 13

The Helmsley Center
for Genomic Medicine
Decoding Chronic Disease				August 2013
Inside Salk

4

31

One on one with…Ron Evans

Next generation: Dinorah Morvinski

3 EXECUTIVE MESSAGE
William R. Brody, M.D., Ph.D.
President
Marsha A. Chandler, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President
Rebecca Newman
Vice President,
External Relations
Christopher Emery
Interim Chief Communications Officer
Director, Scientific Communications
Karen Heyman
Staff Writer
Sarah Lifton
Copy Editor
Scott Edwards
Renee Twombly
Contributing Writers
Liz Hincks
Web Editor
Joe Belcovson
Photographer
Mike Sullivan
Videography
Kat Kearney
Interim Director, Media Relations
Rhiannon Bruni
Contributing Writer
Diane Wilson
Proofreader
Máximo Escobedo
Senior Designer
studio L.
Graphic Design
Visit the Salk Institute at www.salk.edu
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InsideSalk is published by the Salk Institutefor Biological Studies. We welcome yourinput. Please send comments tocommunications@salk.edu or contact
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at 858.453.4100 x1226.

D I S C O V E RY R O U N D U P

27 Despite what you may think, your brain is amathematical genius

L E A D S T O RY

4 Decoding Chronic Disease

28 Salk scientists develop drug that slows Alzheimer’sin mice

INSTITUTE NEWS

10 Salk celebrates campaign milestone
12 One on one with…Ron Evans
15 Singing sensation Katharine McPhee to headline
2013 Symphony at Salk

29 How the brain keeps track of similar but
distinct memories
Smoke signals: How burning plants tell seeds
to rise from the ashes

30 Protein preps cells to survive stress of cancer

Salk Institute honored with historic gift from familyof the late Francis Crick

16 Salk hosts James Watson to celebrate 60 anniversary
thof DNA discovery

17 Neuroscientist Terry Sejnowski attends White Houseannouncement of collaborative BRAIN Initiative

18 The Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center holds

growth and chemotherapy

31 Salk researchers chart epigenomics of stem cells
that mimic early human development
Diabetes drug could hold promise for lungcancer patients

32 Sunshine hormone, vitamin D, may offer hope fortreating liver fibrosis

second annual symposium

19 Salk promotes three outstanding scientists
20 Joanne Chory feted at Paris celebration of
Women in Science
Board of Trustees welcomes business leader Sanjay Jha

21 Salk welcomes the community to Step into Discovery
22 March of Dimes High School Science Day introduces
students to research careers

23 Congressman Scott Peters fights federal cuts
to research funding

24 Salk scientist wins 2013 Andor Insight Award
Daniel C. Lewis honored at Fairleigh Dickinson CharterDay celebration

25 Irwin M. Jacobs awarded 2013 IEEE Medal of Honor
Fred Gage recipient of 2013 George A. Miller Prizein Cognitive Neuroscience

26 American Association for Cancer Research appoints
Salk scientists to inaugural class of fellows
Salk scientist elected to American Academy ofArts and Sciences

N E X T G E N E R AT I O N

33 Putting the “super” in super-mom!
PHILANTHROPY NEWS

36 Women & Science shines spotlight on plant biology
37 First Annual Alumni Mixer features Salk scientists, pastand present

38 Salkexcellerators
40 Salk’s 41st Annual Tax Seminar for Private Foundations
Back to Basics on metabolism

41 Fifty years later, the Institute remembers its first
support organization

42 Get Involved
43 Insider’s View
CALENDAR

Back CoverDear Friends,
At our recent New York Salkexcellerators event, an
attendee suggested the public might pay more attention to science,
if only it were more like the clothing company Hermès. “They come out
with something new and sexy every year,” said the fashionable guest.
It may sound surprising, but the analogy to fashion is quite apt. In
the future, we will no longer have one-size-fits-all treatments forillnesses such as cancer. As our cover story explains, the aim ofgenomic medicine is to enable the new era of bespoke therapies, also
known as personalized or precision medicine. Often, differences in
responses to medical interventions are caused by the genetic makeupof the patient. Many drugs work by interrupting or boosting particular
processes in cells, but those processes are the result of a chain of
events that involve many different proteins and enzymes. A patient
may lack a receptor that a drug targets, or (more fortunately) have onethat makes it even more effective. With further discoveries, both thepatient’s genome or, in the case of cancer, a tumor’s genome, will beanalyzed to design individually targeted therapies.
Indeed, even now the conduct of basic biomedical research is recognizably similar to the fine craftsmanship of an atelier, rather than a mass
production line. Here at Salk, small teams of extraordinarily creative,
highly trained and enormously hardworking individuals strive together
to perfect the tiniest details. Our laboratory heads, such as Ron Evans,the subject of our “One-on-one” feature, provide opportunities andtraining for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers. These
are the leaders of the next generation of science, many of whom, likecancer specialist Dinorah Morvinski, profiled in this issue, have alreadymade significant contributions.

William R. Brody

The amount of work and time required for basic biomedical research
is why we appreciate all the more that you, our readers and contributors, are joining us on our journey to discoveries. We thank you foryour curiosity and your generosity. While it may be hard to convince
you that science is sexy, we do come out with extraordinary discoveries almost every day of the year. Stay tuned, the best is yet to come.
Thank you for your continued support and commitment.

William R. Brody, M.D., Ph.D.
President, Salk Institute
Irwin M. Jacobs Presidential Chair

ON THE COVER

This “heat map” depicts gene expression from 100 different cell types. The resulting pattern indicates how strongly a gene is being
expressed (yellow is higher, blue is lower, black is in the middle). By helping scientists quickly see how different genes are expressed andinteract, such maps offer scientists clues about the mechanisms behind cellular processes and diseases. Image courtesy of Chris Benner.

Inside Salk February 2011www.salk.edu

www.salk.edu
Inside Salk 08 |13 Executive
Message

53

The Helmsley Center
for Genomic Medicine
Salk scientists use genome
mapping, bioinformatics
and powerful computers to
study chronic diseases andfind new therapies.

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Lead Story Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

Inder Verma, professor in the Laboratory of Genetics, and Manching Ku of the Genome Sequencing Core Facility

On the surface, chronic diseases suchas cancer, diabetes and Parkinson’s look very
different. Each has its particular symptoms,
prognosis and therapies, and scientists havetended to study each disease in isolation,
searching for the particular key that will
unlock its mysteries.
Deeper down, however, these diseases havemuch in common. In recent years, scientists
have discovered that certain genetic programs
are involved in all chronic illnesses, suggestingthat these programs might serve as targets forwww.salk.edu

treating multiple diseases. In particular, many
chronic diseases involve inflammation, thebody’s first defense against stressors such as
disease and injury. When inflammation becomeschronic, due to long-term stresses such as infections, toxins or obesity, it can damage cells andorgans, leading to clinical illness.
The Salk Institute’s new Helmsley Center for
Genomic Medicine, launched in January with a$42 million gift from the Leona M. and Harry
B. Helmsley Charitable Trust, was establishedto study these links between chronic diseases,

with a focus on the role of chronic inflammation.
The center’s three major programs—cancer, stem
cell and metabolism research—are focused on
deciphering the common molecular and genetic
mechanisms that go awry in chronic illness.
One of four major scientific initiatives of theCampaign for Salk, the Institute’s first major
fundraising campaign, the Genomic Medicine
Initiative is leveraging new technologies thatallow scientists to map the entire humangenome—the DNA sequences containing theblueprint for human life. In addition to a core

Inside Salk 08 |13 Lead Story5

facility for genomic sequencing, the Helmsley Center includes a bioinformatics core devoted to managing and analyzing the massive amountsof data produced by sequencing machines. Other new facilities allow
researchers to study the molecules that make up cells’ biochemicalmachinery and to produce potential new drugs that can be tested incellular and animal models. The center also supports postdoctoral
researchers through the Helmsley Fellows Program, as well as a monthly
Helmsley Symposium, where Salk scientists discuss their research inan open forum.

“

genome allows us to pinpoint these changes in the genome and determine
when they occur in the process.
Tracking down such mutations is crucial to providing personalized
treatments for cancers and other diseases, says Xia. Through sequencing
a donor’s genome, doctors will be able to diagnose the genetic problems
underlying a disease and determine the most precise and effective
treatments. This is already taking place with disorders that have clear
and relatively simple genetic links—for example, with certain forms ofbreast cancer—but whole-genome sequencing offers the possibility

The ability to sequence an organism’s genome offers an unprecedented window
into what’s happening in our cells and how those processes impact our health.
— Inder Verma

Already, the center is allowing Salk scientists to greatly expand on theirresearch into the genomic underpinnings of disease, generating ideas for
new scientific directions and building on the promise of past findings.
“The ability to sequence an organism’s genome offers an unprecedented
window into what’s happening in our cells and how those processes impact
our health,” says Inder M. Verma, one of the center’s lead researchersand holder of the Irwin and Joan Jacobs Chair in Exemplary Life Science.
“When you combine this with the other new core facilities and expertise,
you have an incredibly powerful platform for studying the role of stress andchronic inflammation in disease.”
In one line of research, Verma’s laboratory has developed mouse models
of lung cancers to study the links between cancer and inflammation. Using
these animal models, they are exploring how the same biochemical playersthat protect the body by controlling the inflammation response of cells canbe hijacked by genetic mutations involved in the development of cancer.
Whole-genome sequencing allows them to observe the changes in the
genome and in gene expression as a cancer progresses.
“For a cell to become cancerous, a sequence of several genetic
mutations must occur,” says Yifeng Xia, a postdoctoral researcher inVerma’s laboratory who works on the project. “Sequencing the entire

6

Lead Story Inside Salk 08 |13”of doing the same for more complex disorders that may involve multiple
genetic mutations.
In the past, Salk researchers sent their cellular samples as far as China
to be sequenced and wouldn’t get the results back for weeks. Thanks to theHelmsley Center’s new genomic sequencing core, they now have in-house
access to the latest technology.
The Helmsley Center is also allowing Salk to recruit scientists withexpertise in bioinformatics, who use powerful computers and statisticalmodeling to analyze and manage the genomic data produced by thesequencers. “The technologies are critical, but you also need great
people to work with the data—it has become an entirely new field of
science,” says Ronald M. Evans, holder of the March of Dimes Chair in
Molecular and Developmental Biology and co-lead researcher of the center.
“We often look at the genetic signatures from healthy versus unhealthy
tissue to determine what’s different at the genomic level. To find thosesignatures, you have to set up the experiments so they produce the rightkind of data, and you need expertise in computational analysis to comb thedata for answers.”
Evans’s laboratory is combining whole-genome sequencing withtechnology to pinpoint genes that control inflammation. “The genome

www.salk.edu

The technologies that drive genomic medicine
When a clinician gives a patient a prognosis based on genomic research, it’s thetip of a very large technical iceberg. Backing up the analysis are years of laboratory
research based on gene sequencers and other specialized tools and techniques.

DNA sequencing (whole genome)
Whole-genome sequencing maps the sequences of nucleotides that make up the genetic code stored
in DNA. Understanding the genomes of other species is essential to the biomedical research at Salk
that underlies successful therapies. In clinical settings, the genomes of patients may be compared to abaseline “normal” human genome to see if there are any mutations or variations that the patients havein common. In personalized medicine, a person’s genome might be analyzed to determine whether aparticular drug could work within his or her body.

RNA sequencing (gene expression)
While DNA sequencing provides a static view of all the letters in our genome, RNA sequencing offers
a dynamic glimpse at how that genomic blueprint actually controls cellular function. RNA sequencing
detects what genes are turned on or off, which provides insight into how diseases disrupt the genomic
programs that normally keep us healthy. For example, Salk scientists use RNA sequencing to examine
the patterns and changes in gene expression as a tumor grows.

Bioinformatics (computational analysis techniques)
One of the greatest challenges of genomics is trying to sort through raw sequencing data, which canrun to trillions of letters, to find useful information. It’s like trying to find one phrase in all of the booksin the Library of Congress. Specialists in bioinformatics, such as Chris Benner, director of the Integrative Genomics and Bioinformatics Core, combine a background in computer science with knowledge of
biology to mine the data using computer code that seeks out patterns. In addition, they develop new
algorithms to solve specific research questions, as well as make “missing piece” predictions aboutmolecular structures.

Laboratory modeling of disease
Disease causes change at the cellular level, and scientists have long hoped to track the progressionof these changes throughout the course of an illness. Salk researchers now have the ability to study
diseases in animal models, which is far faster and more affordable than studying humans. They canalso take skin or blood cells from patients with diseases such as autism, Parkinson’s or hemophilia andconvert them into stem cells, which can then be differentiated into any cell type. This will allow them
to follow the entire cycle of disease progression, yielding insight into both drug development and whenbest to target therapies in individual patients.

Advanced imaging of disease
Equipment to visualize tumors in different organs, such as MicroCT to visualize tumor size, PET
imaging to track tumor usage of glucose, and bioluminescence to track tumor growth in labeled cells,
are all critical tools in the cancer researcher’s arsenal. They are now available for use with laboratory
mice, allowing scientists to track therapeutic responses in the best mouse models for human cancers.

www.salk.edu

Inside Salk 08 |13 Lead Story

7

Salk researchers Apua Paquola and Jennifer Erwinis the control center for our cells, and it adapts to stress to keep us
healthy,” Evans says. “However, when that stress is persistent, thegenome’s adaptation leads to chronic inflammation and persistent illness.
We are integrating multiple technology platforms to find delinquent genes
and develop drugs that can reset the genome to a healthy state. This iswhere the Helmsley Center therapeutic core comes in. When we havean idea for resetting the genome, we can generate molecules to test as
potential drugs.”
In one project, the Evans team is exploring how long-term inflammation
results in liver fibrosis, an excessive accumulation of tough, fibrous scartissue found in people with chronic liver diseases. The causes of fibrosis
include chronic hepatitis virus infection, excess alcohol consumption
and obesity. With the help of high-throughput sequencing, Ning Ding, a
postdoctoral fellow on Evans’s team, recently discovered that a synthetic
form of vitamin D, calcipotriol (a drug already approved by the FDA for
the treatment of psoriasis), deactivates the genetic switch governing the
fibrotic response in mouse liver cells, suggesting a potential new therapy
for liver fibrosis.
Evans’s lab has already begun working with the laboratories of Salk
professors Marc Montminy, Salk's J.W. Kieckhefer Foundation Chair, andGreg Lemke, the Françoise Gilot-Salk Chair, to further develop this diseasemodel. “A prominent part of the vision for the Helmsley Center is to help
those of us working in different areas to collaborate more seamlessly,”
says Evans.

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Lead Story Inside Salk 08 |13

Fibrosis occurs in a wide range of body tissues—heart, lungs, intestines, skin—and Evans is exploring ways to leverage his research on liver
fibrosis to understand other types of fibrotic disease. Another postdoctoral
researcher on his team, Mara Sherman, has found that fibrosis is aparticularly powerful driver of inflammation of the pancreas, known as“pancreatitis,” which if not controlled, progresses to pancreatic cancer.
Evans’s laboratory and other Salk laboratories are adapting sequencing machines to map more than just the DNA code. With rapidly evolving
technology, scientists can determine which genes are active in a cell at any
given time—a process known as gene expression—and can chart an extra
code of chemical markers on DNA known as the epigenome. Computational
technology developed at the Salk can overlay maps of DNA sequences withthose of the epigenetic code, as well as measurements of gene expression,
to produce a three-dimensional view of our cellular machinery in action.
Fred H. Gage, also a lead researcher in the Helmsley Center andholder of the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related
Neurodegenerative Diseases, is combining these sequencing approacheswith stem cell research to study chronic neurological conditions, such as
schizophrenia, autism and Parkinson’s disease. Gage and his team reprogram skin cells from patients with these disorders to become induced
pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), then coax these cells into becoming neurons. This overcomes hurdles to obtaining neurons from patients’ brains
and allows the investigators to study the cells in the laboratory.

www.salk.edu

“A prominent part of the vision for the HelmsleyCenter is to help those of us working in different
areas to collaborate more seamlessly.
— Ron Evans”

The Helmsley Center
for Genomic Medicine
Decoding Chronic Disease

By using this iPSC technology to generate neurons and other brain cells, known as glia,
from Parkinson’s patients, Gage and his team are investigating the role of inflammation in
the disease. “The primary risk factor for Parkinson’s disease is aging, and we know that
inflammation in the brain increases dramatically when people get older,” Gage says. “It’sclear that inflammation plays a role, but we don’t know the precise mechanisms that lead tothe neuron death seen in Parkinson’s. It could be that the neurons become more sensitive to
inflammation or that the glia malfunction to damage the neurons.”
Sequencing the genomes of iPSC-derived neurons shows what genes are regulated differently in Parkinson’s patients, which may provide targets for drugs that prevent or reverse
the disease. The scientists are also exploring whether it is possible to measure brain-related
inflammation through a simple blood test, which might provide an early warning that a person is at risk of Parkinson’s. In that case, drugs to reduce that inflammation could help headoff the disease.
In another line of research, Gage and his team want to know whether these neurologicaldisorders are linked to so-called “jumping genes,” bits of DNA known as retrotransposons
that move freely about the genome. “This is the dark matter of the genome,” says Gage.
“This movement of DNA sequences may explain why people with ostensibly similar genetic
profiles have a very different disease history.”
In some sets of identical twins, for instance, one twin will develop schizophrenia while
the other remains healthy. Also, twins might respond differently to the same drug. By comparing the twins’ genomes, Gage’s team is discerning what genetic differences explainthese variations in health and drug responses. “There’s so much we don’t know about
retrotransposons,” says Jennifer Erwin, a postdoctoral researcher in Gage’s lab. “We aretrying to figure out how many copies of these genes there are in the genome, how often they
move and where they are located. Once we know those basics, we will have a better idea of
their role in neurological disorders.”
If genomic medicine at Salk is a marriage between the best molecular biology researchand powerful bioinformatic and computational approaches, Erwin and her husband, Apua
Paquola, a staff scientist in Gage’s lab, could be the poster children for the Helmsley Center.
Erwin’s specialty is molecular genetics, focusing on gene expression and cell culture, while
Paquola has a computer engineering background and a doctorate in bioinformatics.
Combining their expertise, the couple is studying the role of jumping genes in Rett
syndrome, a rare neurodevelopmental disease that affects mostly girls and is considered
one of the autism spectrum disorders. Already Gage’s lab has shown that people with thesyndrome have more movement of genetic material in their DNA, a groundbreaking study
that provided the first evidence of a link between genomic instability and a mental disorder.
“Now we want to find out whether this instability is related to a defect in neurons or glia
to explain the symptoms of the syndrome,” Paquola says. “The genome is a big, complicatedplace, but now we¹ve got the right people and the right tools to make much more rapid
advances in understanding the relationship between the genome and diseases.”www.salk.edu

The H.A. andMary K. Chapman
Charitable Foundations:
Making a difference
Gene sequencing is the fundamental
quantitative tool of genomic medicine. A
sequencer is similar to a computer, in thesense that it can run different types ofsequencing analyses (see page 7). Thanks
to a generous contribution from the H.A. andMary K. Chapman Charitable Foundations,which has allowed the Salk Institute to acquire
these cutting-edge devices, Salk scientists areable to explore highly innovative genomic
medicine projects and receive results in amuch shorter time.
The H.A. and Mary K. Chapman Charitable
Trust and The Mary K. Chapman Foundations
are the legacy of the late H. Allen and Mary
K. Chapman, known for their philanthropy andtheir loyalty to Oklahoma, where Mary was bornand H. Allen spent most of his life.
H. Allen Chapman, born only 12 years after
Oklahoma achieved statehood, was an independent oil and gas producer who directed
his giving toward educational and medical
ends. Mary Chapman retired from nursing after
her marriage but retained a nurse’s priorities
by concentrating her charity on human healthand welfare.
Their generosity continues under the stewardship of trustees Donne Pitman and Jerry
Dickman. The foundations’ gift combines the
Chapmans’ interests by providing technologythat will advance cures for human disease
and serve as a training tool for the next
generation of biomedical researchers.

Inside Salk 08 |13 Lead Story

9

From left: Bruce Steel (representing BioMed Realty), Faye Wilson, Darlene Shiley, T. Denny Sanford, Joan Jacobs, Irwin Jacobs, Keith James (Ferring Pharmaceuticals)

Salk celebrates campaign milestone
As milestones go, the one that the Institute celebrated
on June 7 was especially noteworthy: more than $200 million raised
toward the Campaign for Salk’s $300 million goal. Some 125 guests,
including donors, trustees, faculty and friends, were on hand to markthe occasion, which also feted newly appointed chairholders and thedonors who endowed the chairs, as well as others who have madeexceptionally generous investments in Salk’s future.
The evening was, as board chair Irwin Jacobs noted in his opening
remarks, “an opportunity to honor the many amazing and loyal friendsof the Institute for their generosity and participation in Salk’s
first-ever campaign.”
Those honors began with recognition of trustee Ted Waitt’s leadershipand the Waitt Family Foundation’s 2008 gift establishing the Waitt
Advanced Biophotonics Center, which was the catalyst for the campaign.
New signage for the center was revealed on the Southeast Building,reflecting the role of Waitt and the foundation.

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Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13

Also unveiled was a wall honoring donors who have contributed$100,000 or more to the campaign and another acknowledging
Jonas Salk Circle donors, who have given at least $1 million tounrestricted endowment for the Institute. The names of the threelatest chairs established through the Jacobs Chair Challenge were also
added to the existing wall recognizing the chairs. It was particularly
poignant when Elizabeth Keadle, who endowed one of the chairs inmemory of the late Wylie Vale, in whose lab she trained, took the podiumwith Vale’s widow, Betty, following a video tribute to the longtime Salk
faculty member, who died last year.
Just before a sumptuous dinner, Beverly Emerson, Christopher Kintner
and Paul Sawchenko, appointees to the chairs, were presented, underscoring the extraordinary impact the campaign is already having on
Salk science.

www.salk.edu

“The evening was an opportunity to honor the
many amazing and loyal friends of the Institutefor their generosity and participation in Salk’s– Irwin Jacobs
first-ever campaign.

”

Irwin Jacobs and Hailey Waitt

Beverly M. Emerson
Beverly M. Emerson is the inaugural holder of the Edwin K. Hunter Chair, established by the Olive
Tupper Foundation, the Chambers Medical Foundation, the Jenkins Family Charitable Institute, andthe Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation. Mr. Hunter is a dedicated supporter of Salk andhas served as the Chair of Salk's Annual Tax Seminar since 2010.
Emerson, professor in the Regulatory Biology Laboratory, studies the behavior of genes, notably
how they are switched on and off during normal development and during the development of cancer.
She explores the molecular mechanisms underlying the cellular response to stress and seeks to find
new ways to more easily turn on and off genes that maintain normal tissue function. This work isimportant for discovering new strategies for repairing or eliminating damaged cells that contribute tocancer and other diseases.
From left: Bill Brody, Edwin Hunter and Irwin Jacobs
Seated: Bev Emerson

Christopher R. Kintner
Christopher R. Kintner has been appointed the inaugural holder of the Rita and Richard Atkinson
Chair established by the Atkinsons "to recognize outstanding individuals who are making fundamental contributions to the advancement of science that will impact human health."
Professor in the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory, Kintner studies the molecular events that
occur in the formation of the nervous system during embryonic development. His research focuseson the development of cells with motile cilia, finger-like projections that beat and move fluid inorgans such as the lungs. He studies the genes that are required to form motile cilia and enable
cells to orient cilia to beat in the same direction. Analyzing these key genetic pathways of normal
development and differentiation of stem cells will advance knowledge about ciliopathies and lungdiseases that affect cilia function and will ultimately help prevent or treat human birth defects.
From left: Bill Brody, Richard Atkinson and Irwin Jacobs
Seated: Chris Kintner

Paul E. Sawchenko

From left: Bill Brody, Liz Keadle, Betty Vale and Irwin Jacobs
Seated: Paul Sawchenko
www.salk.edu

Paul E. Sawchenko was named the inaugural holder of the Wylie Vale Chair established by
Liz Keadle, a loyal Salk donor who once worked in the laboratory of the late Salk professor.
"Supporting the work of brilliant Salk researchers in Wylie's memory is an honor that allows me tocontribute in some small way to the advancement of science," said Ms. Keadle.
Sawchenko, professor and head of the Laboratory of Neuronal Structure and Function, studies
how the brain is organized to enable us to respond adaptively to stresses of different sorts, ranging
from everyday life events that produce fear and anxiety to immune system challenges resulting fromsickness or inflammation. He and his colleagues seek to define the complex networks of brain cells
that allow us to cope with specific insults and to identify the molecules that mediate communication
between cells within each network. Because stress contributes to the development of many neurodegenerative diseases, including age-related disorders such as Alzheimer's, these studies are paving
the way for more effective management of these conditions.

Inside Salk 08 |13 Institute News

11

One on one with…

Ron Evans
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Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

Ronald M. Evans, holder of the March of Dimes
Chair at Salk, is best known for discovering a family ofreceptors found on the nucleus of cells, an advance
that’s helping to explain the complex molecular systems
that are the basis of human physiology.
As one of the lead researchers in the Institute’s new
Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine, Evans has teamed
up with other Salk scientists to explain how the biologicalprograms coded for in the genome orchestrate our biologicalrhythms and how glitches in this programming leadto disease.
We caught up with Evans to ask him about the new HelmsleyCenter, his penchant for embracing cutting-edge technologies and his gift for making the complicated seem simple.
The Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine has a strong focus
on providing Salk scientists with access to the latest researchtechnologies. Why is this such a large part of the vision for the center?
The Helmsley Center is about an idea and technology that enables ideas.
Technology drives science by letting us ask new questions, which in turnlead to new answers. With the ability to sequence an entire genome—
whether that of the fruit fly or a human—we suddenly had tools needed to
study complex systems like organ physiology, inflammation and chronic
illness. And more of those tools are being developed every day, such as
high-throughput sequencers, bioinformatics, genome engineering andatomic resolution microscopy. The secret is being able to generate andmanipulate massive amounts of data in a rapid fashion. Of course, having
technology is no guarantee. Machines do not design experiments. To accessthe real power of the technology, you have to ask the right questions.

Have you always been an early adopter of new research technologies?
I was exposed early in my career to what were, for the time, really advanced
technologies. First it was RNA sequencing, then DNA cloning and thenDNA sequencing. That was all in the ‘70s and was followed by genetic
engineering of animals in the early ‘80s. I learned that you either create

www.salk.edu

it, adopt it quickly or you will be steamrolled. You need to operate at the
cutting edge. When I started, there were no biotech companies like Life
Technologies or Illumina that provided you with ready-made tools, so we
had to make all the reagents and build many instruments ourselves. We
were doing DNA sequencing in 1975 before 99 percent of the world wasdoing it. At Salk, we began engineering the first transgenic mice in 1982.
Forward thinking tends to push you forward, and once you get used tothat, you get bored if you’re not at the frontier. The Salk is the exact rightplace for pushing the frontier.

Does that extend to your personal life as well?
I’ve always been into very high-fidelity audio equipment. My brother and I
used to build receivers, amplifiers and shortwave radios and set up media
rooms with the equipment we built. I really enjoyed working out the electronics. I don’t build those systems anymore because the components now
are all solid-state electronics that don’t work well with the old style of do-ityourself fabrication. But we do have a remote-controlled audiophile soundand media system in our house set up to be controlled in any room throughan iPad. It’s ridiculously complicated, but fun.

Inside Salk 08 |13 Institute News

13

Many of the young researchers trained at Salk have gone on to become
leaders in their areas of science. What characteristics do you need to
be a successful scientist?
Being comfortable with taking risks is important. When you’re working
inside the box, there is a lot more information. You know what’s safe andwhat’s not. But outside the box there is less information and more danger.
You have to develop good instincts and have confidence that the problem isbig enough to overcome all the challenges. Francis Crick is a great exampleof how you can be so ahead of your time, so far out of the box, that it canbe very risky. After discovering the structure of DNA, Francis came to Salk
to study consciousness, which at the time was an audacious idea. Many
scientists at the time questioned whether consciousness was an appropriate problem and, if so, what would be the technical challenges needed tomake a breakthrough. Francis was far ahead of his time, but he set thefield in motion.

Do you have any burning scientific questions that current technologies
are incapable of answering?
For Watson and Crick, the question was about the structure of the gene.
In my era the question became “How is the gene controlled?” and moregenerally, “What is the mechanism that controls and coordinates the activity of large gene networks?” The nature of gene regulation is very challenging, yet it lies at the heart of normal physiology. When crippled, it is thesource of chronic disease. I’m also very curious about the origins of genes.
For instance, we know that many genes in our bodies came from primitive
organisms like bacteria, mold and yeast. But I work on nuclear hormone
receptors, which aren’t found in those organisms. Nuclear receptors areintegral to human physiology, but where did they come from? Where did
we get the genes that tell our cells to produce them? If we could solvethat mystery, we’d know a lot more about who we are and how we interact
with our environment.

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Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13

You have a knack for speaking about science in a way that’s clear
and engaging. Is that something you’ve cultivated?
I’ve worked at it. Good presentations take effort. It’s one thing to do
science and completely another to be able to communicate it. Working in
the laboratory is kind of like working in an elaborate kitchen: you’re mixing,
spinning and making recipes. It’s very detailed, and when you tell people
what you did, it’s easy to get caught up in the description of what you did
without tasting the food. Many scientists aren’t comfortable talking about
their work to nonscientists, in part because the simpler you make it, themore difficult it is to do. But simplifying is important, because that’s when
you realize the essence of what you’ve done. That’s when you bring themeal together and try to make it smell good, look good and taste good.
It’s important, but it’s not easy.

Is there anything else you’d like to get better at?
I never picked up computer programming, and that interests me. While I do
not like the process of writing (because it is difficult), I would like to write
a book about the origin of physiology, behavior and the complex biologythat makes us humans. In this case, starting is the hardest part. In regards
to relaxing, I love playing the guitar, I like the craftsmanship in well-madeguitars, and I like the techniques of playing (but mostly for myself and
not for groups). While I like big challenges, I am not very efficient. I am
easily distracted—by people, by Google, by just about anything. I keep
my lab dynamic, and that gives my team room to be creative and readyfor surprises. I like seeing the people in my lab take their discoveries andmove on to develop their own research programs around the world. And I
like bringing in new people and letting them follow their intuition. Truth is,
I thrive on chaos.

www.salk.edu

Singing sensation Katharine McPhee to headline
2013 Symphony at Salk
Multi-talented singer Katharine McPhee
will step into the spotlight as the headliner for the
18th annual “Symphony at Salk—A Concert under
the Stars,” performing with the San Diego Symphonyand acclaimed guest conductor Thomas Wilkins.
The Institute’s signature gala, Symphony at
Salk, is a one-of-a-kind concert experience, whereaudience members take in spectacular sunset views
over the Pacific Ocean as they enjoy a gourmet
dinner and watch the evening’s performance.
It is one of the cultural highlights of summer in
San Diego and sells out every year. Funds raised
from the event directly support the Institute’s
leading-edge scientific research and award-winning
community education programs.
McPhee, an acclaimed singer and popular
actress from the NBC television series “SMASH,”
gained fame as a standout contestant on the fifthAugust 24, 2013season of the Fox reality show “American Idol,”where she impressed audiences and judges alikewith her stunning voice. She was quickly signed
to RCA Records, where her first single, “Somewhere
Over the Rainbow/My Destiny,” debuted at number
two on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales chart. Her selftitled debut album followed in 2007, and in 2009,
McPhee garnered a Young Hollywood Award forBest Female Vocalist. She spent 2010 touring thecountry with her album Unbroken, which included
the hit single “Had It All.”
Individual tickets are on sale for $250 andcan be purchased online on the Symphony at Salk
website or by calling 858-597-0657. Sponsorshippackages are also available and range from $2,500
to $75,000. For additional ticket or sponsorship
information, please visit www.salk.edu/symphonyor email symphony@salk.edu.

Katharine McPhee

18th annual SYMPHONY at SALK , a concert under the stars

Salk Institute honored with historic giftfrom family of the late Francis Crick
Michael Crick, the son of the late Nobel laureate and Salk
faculty member, Francis Crick, has generously donated to the Institute halfof the proceeds from the sale of a 1953 letter in which the elder Crickdescribes to his young son his recent discovery of the structure of DNA.
On April 25, 1953, Crick and James Watson published a historic letterin Nature that described the DNA double helix, which concluded with thefamous understatement that the structure “suggests a possible copying
mechanism for genetic material.” Crick, Watson and Maurice Wilkins
would later share the 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine forthe discovery.
But before Crick told the world about DNA, he wrote a letter to his
12-year-old son Michael, then at boarding school. The letter was signedwith paternal affection, “Lots of love, Daddy,” but the contents are
considered the first complete written description of the structure andmechanism of DNA, including a hand-drawn picture by Crick. Of thepicture, he commented to his son, “the model looks much nicer than this.”
The letter sold April 10 at Christie’s auction house to an anonymous
bidder for a record price of close to $6 million. The previous record holder
was an Abraham Lincoln letter that sold for $3.4 million in 2008.
“Francis Crick was for many years a deeply beloved member of
the Salk faculty, who pushed himself and his colleagues to ask profoundscientific questions,” said Salk Institute President William R. Brody. “TheSalk Institute is enormously grateful for having had the privilege to know
and work with Francis, and that Michael has chosen to honor his father’s
memory in this way.”www.salk.edu

Francis Crick“Francis Crick was for many years a deeply
beloved member of the Salk faculty, whopushed himself and his colleagues to ask
profound scientific questions.

				

”

– William R. Brody

Inside Salk 08 |13 Institute News

15

James Watson spoke to a standing-room-only crowd in the Frederic de Hoffmann Auditorium.

Salk hosts James Watson to celebrate 60th anniversary of DNA discovery
On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the discovery of DNA,James Watson addressed Salk faculty, staff and guests on his new
approach to cancer research.
“James Watson is the most famous scientist in the world,” said
Ronald Evans, holder of Salk’s March of Dimes Chair in Molecular andDevelopmental Biology, as he introduced Watson. Evans disclosed thathe’d just asked Watson to autograph his own copy of The Double Helix,
Watson’s best-selling memoir of the quest to understand DNA.
In 1962, Watson shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
with long-time Salk Institute faculty member Francis Crick and Maurice
Wilkins of King’s College, London, for describing the double-helix structureof DNA, a discovery that laid the cornerstone for modern molecular biology.
The fourth scientist who contributed to the discovery, Rosalind Franklin,
had died of uterine cancer before the prize was awarded.
Watson, Chancellor Emeritus of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, has
described his research on cancer as “among my most important work since
the double helix.” He presented a provocative series of questions basedon his review of the literature on cancer, especially studies on metformin,known as a diabetes drug, which he has been taking to keep his prostatecancer in check.
At one point, the lecture nearly turned into a private discussion
between Watson and Reuben Shaw, an associate professor in Salk’s
Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory and researcher in the Institute’s“

new Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine. Shaw had a paper inthe journal Cancer Cell, which showed that a derivative of metformin
decreased the size of lung tumors in mice and increased the animals’survival. “Unfortunately, for Cold Spring Harbor, you didn't accept ourjob offer!” Watson joked.
In his closing remarks, Evans, who has helped to spearhead Salk’s
efforts on metabolic diseases and aging research, cautioned, “MostAmericans are under-exercised.” By contrast, the 85-year-old Watson
is a testimony to healthy aging. “I’ve exercised strenuously for the
past twenty years,” he said. “If I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t be giving
this talk.”
James Watson

I’ve exercised strenuously for the past twenty years.
If I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t be giving this talk.

16

		

					

Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13– James Watson”
www.salk.edu

President Barack Obama greets Terry Sejnowski at the White House.

Neuroscientist Terry Sejnowksi attends White House announcementof collaborative BRAIN Initiative
This past April, President Obamalaunched the Brain Research through Advancing
Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. One of the initiative’s scientific leaders is
the Salk’s own Terry Sejnowski, who joined thepresident for the official announcement at theWhite House.
According to Sejnowski, despite reports inthe popular press that the intent of the initiative
is to map the entire human brain, its real goal ismuch more fundamental and practical. “We areat a point where we can develop the tools to map
entire circuits, first in invertebrates and eventually in mammals,” he says. “This is the start ofthe million neuron march.”
Sejnowski says BRAIN could ultimately help

BRAIN
INITIATIVE
www.salk.edu

reduce the overwhelming costs for treatment andlong-term care of brain-related disorders, which
Price Waterhouse Coopers estimated at $515
billion for the United States alone in 2012.
“Many of the most devastating human brain
disorders, such as depression and schizophrenia,
only seem to emerge when large-scale assemblies of neurons are involved,” says Sejnowski.
“Other terrible conditions, such as blindness andparalysis, result from disruptions in circuit connections. The more precise our information about
specific circuits, the more we will understandwhat went wrong, where it went wrong, and how
to target therapies.”
BRAIN’s focus on tool development dovetails
with Salk’s Dynamic Brain Initiative, which is

BRAIN RESEARCH
THROUGH ADVANCINGINNOVATIVENEUROTECHNOLOGIES“

also extending the boundaries of knowledge ofthe brain, spinal cord and peripheral nervous
system. Salk is home to several pioneering toolbuilders, among them Edward M. Callaway, who
modified a rabies virus to trace neuronal connections in the visual system, and Axel Nimmerjahn,
who has invented tiny, wearable microscopes tosee into the brains of laboratory mice.
Summing up his excitement over the promiseof BRAIN, Sejnowski says, “Imagine how it musthave felt to be a rocket engineer when Kennedy
said we would reach for the moon. You know
there’s an almost unimaginable amount of hard
work ahead of you—and yet you can’t wait to
get started.””

This is the start of the million neuron march.
– Terry Sejnowski

Inside Salk 08 |13 Institute News

17

Stephen Smith, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology of the Stanford University School of Medicine

The Waitt Advanced Biophotonics Center holds second annual symposium
Much of the public frustration with the slow progressof science may come from our textbooks, which illustrate most ideas assimple cartoons. For example, the synapse of a neuron, where one
neuron passes a signal to another, is usually shown as a small bulb which
releases tiny bubbles (called vesicles) that float across a channel todock in another small bulb. How hard can it be to cure a disease, if all ittakes is knowing that a few bubbles cross between two bulbs?
The reality is a level of complexity that astonishes even professional
scientists, as shown during the Salk’s recent Waitt Advanced Biophotonics
Center’s (WABC) Second Annual Symposium. “It was the best conference
I’ve been to in the last year, in terms of the new information I learned,”says Terry Sejnowski, Salk’s Francis Crick chair.
Organized by Salk faculty members Martin Hetzer and Axel Nimmerjahn
and Biophotonics Core Facility Director James Fitzpatrick, the symposium
brought together an all-star scientific line-up of specialists in topics ranging from the molecular mechanisms of gene expression to the effect ofneural vasculature on microstrokes. “What they all have in common is thedesire to understand the three-dimensional architecture of single moleculesand cellular systems and how it relates to biological function,” says Hetzer,
WABC’s faculty director and the Jesse and Caryl Philips Foundation Chair.
Consider that textbook cartoon of a neuron. According to symposium
speaker Stephen Smith of Stanford University, it’s now known many
vesicles dock at places other than synapses. Additionally, the vesicles
themselves, which appear in the flat gray-scale of older electron micrographs to be bubbles of just one substance, have been revealed by newer
techniques to be pin cushion-like structures of hundreds of proteins.

18

www.salk.edu
Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13“A piece of cerebral cortex the size of a large grain of sand may containseveral billion synapses,” says Sejnowski. “It’s a multi-dimensional problem that’s beyond what a human can calculate.” His own talk described his
lab’s use of computer simulations to model the subcellular architecture
and physiology of neurons and their synapses, as well as bacteria.
With its tour de force demonstrations of the insights gained fromadvanced scientific methods, the symposium reinforced the message of
President Obama’s BRAIN Initiative to push forward with new tools andtechniques, says Sejnowski, an advisor to the initiative.
Says Fitzpatrick, “At whatever scale you’re working on, the complexityof biological systems is nearly overwhelming. Yet we firmly believe that withthe right tools, it’s not intractable.”

Inside Salk 07| 13 Institutewww.salk.edu
News

17

From left to right: Clodagh O’Shea, John Reynolds and Tatyana Sharpee

Salk promotes three outstanding scientists
Three Salk faculty members received welcome news in
mid-April: all were promoted, based on recommendations by their facultycolleagues and by the Institute’s non-resident fellows.
John Reynolds, in the Systems Neurobiology Laboratories, waspromoted to full professor. His research explores the fundamental
nature of the computations that are carried out by the neocortex,
including those that enable us to attend to sensory stimuli. He seeks
to understand how and why these computations fail in brain disease—research that is essential to developing treatments for disorders inwhich attention and vision are impaired, such as visual agnosia, Balint’s
syndrome, visual neglect, attentional aspects of autism, schizophrenia
and Alzheimer’s disease.
Clodagh O’Shea, of the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory, waspromoted to associate professor. O’Shea is an expert on oncolytic viruses—
viruses that can only reproduce in cancer cells. Such viruses offer a noveland potentially self-perpetuating cancer therapy: each time a virus infects acancer cell and successfully multiplies, the virus ultimately kills the cancer
cell by bursting it open to release thousands of viral progeny. The next
generation seeks out remaining tumor cells and distant micro-metastases
but leaves normal cells unharmed. O’Shea is at the forefront of thiscutting-edge technology.
Tatyana Sharpee was also promoted to associate professor. Working in
the Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, she studies the brain’s operation in a natural sensory environment, formulating theoretical principles of
how it processes information. Using methods from physics and information
theory, Sharpee and her colleagues are developing statistical methods that
can help identify how the brain can rapidly recognize objects despite variations in their position relative to us. This work may eventually lead tobetter prostheses for patients whose object recognition has been impaired
as a result of a stroke or neurodegenerative disease.

Can’t wait for the next issue of InsideSalk?
Sign up for our free new monthly e-newsletter, “Salk Central,” to learn
about the latest Institute news and discoveries in Salk science as they
happen! To sign up, just visit www.salk.edu/news/enewsletter.php

www.salk.edu

Inside Salk 08 |13 Institute News

19

Joanne Chory feted in Paris celebrationof Women in Science
Joanne Chory
Professor and Director
Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Laboratory
Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator
Howard H. and Maryam R. Newman Chair in Plant Biology

Salk plant biologist Joanne Chory was honored in Paris, France, with a larger-than-life photo on the Avenue
des Champs-Élysées. The commemoration was a part of the 15th anniversary celebration of the L’Oreal–
UNESCO For Women in Science program. In 2000, Chory was the first North American laureate to be
inducted into the organization.
Founded in 1998, the L’Oreal–UNESCO For Women in Science partnership was created to recognize andpromote remarkable women who have contributed to scientific progress on every continent and to promotescientific advances worldwide. More than 1700 women in 110 countries have subsequently received
support from the program.

Board of Trustees welcomes business leader Sanjay Jha
At its April meeting, the Salk Boardof Trustees unanimously approved the electionof Sanjay Jha to its ranks. Jha is the former
chairman and chief executive officer of Motorola
Mobility and previously served as the co-chief
executive officer of Motorola. Under his leadership, the struggling company was transformed
into a powerhouse in the mobile phone market,
primarily due to his decision to take a huge riskon the Android smart phone. He stepped down
as CEO in May 2012, after Google acquired
Motorola Mobility.
Prior to joining Motorola, Jha held a variety ofpositions at Qualcomm after joining the company
as a senior engineer in 1994. He was promoted
to vice president of engineering in 1997, andin 1998, he became senior vice president ofengineering. In 2002, Jha led the formationof Qualcomm Technologies & Ventures, where
he managed both the technology investment

20

Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13

portfolio and the new technology group as
senior vice president and general manager. He
also served as president of Qualcomm CDMATechnologies, Qualcomm’s chipset and softwaredivision, during a period of rapid growth. Jha
became executive vice president of Qualcomm
and president of Qualcomm Flarion Technologies
in 2003 and was named chief operating officer
in December 2006.
“Sanjay’s extraordinary record of success as
a leader in technology and business makes him
a valuable addition to our board,” said board
chair Irwin M. Jacobs. “His wide-ranging curiosity, experience and professional expertise will
provide valuable support as we further expand
the Institute’s scientific impact.”
Jha holds a Ph.D. in electronic and electricalengineering from the University of Strathclyde
in Scotland. He received his B.S. in engineeringfrom the University of Liverpool in England.

“

Sanjay’s extraordinary
record of success as aleader in technology
and business makes
him a valuable addition		
to our board.

”– irwin m. jacobs
www.salk.edu

Salk welcomes the community to Step into Discovery
Institute hosts first ever 5K walk and open house
On April 13, Salk opened its campus to the community ina way it never had before by hosting Step into Discovery day, presenting
the inaugural 5K Walk for Salk and Explore Salk, a wellness event andopen house that offered exclusive tours of the Institute’s science labs.
The morning began with a health and wellness fair, with sponsors
such as Scripps Health and Sharp HealthCare providing free healthscreenings to guests. More than 700 people then took part in the 5K
Walk for Salk in support of basic research, beginning their trek in theInstitute’s famed courtyard.

Following the Walk for Salk, 500 additional people arrived at theInstitute for the Explore Salk component of the event. The eager guests
toured labs, visited with researchers and attended science talks. It wasa unique opportunity for the community to interact with scientists andunderstand how basic research is the first major step in discovering new
therapies and cures for challenging diseases. In addition to the tours andtalks, there were opportunities for children to learn about plant biology,
the brain and DNA at hands-on science booths.

» Visit here to view the photo gallerywww.salk.edu/jun13
www.salk.edu

Inside Salk 08 |13 Institute News

21

Annie Onanong Chivatakarn (center), a research associate from the Gene Expression Laboratory, helps two San Diego students with an interactive lab experiment as part of Salk's annual
March of Dimes High School Science Day.

March of Dimes High School Science Day
introduces students to research careers
Forty-nine Salk scientists in 18 labs hosted approximately
200 students and teachers from 21 schools on March 3, for the 23rd annual
March of Dimes High School Science Day. The event was anything but anumbers game. Participants took part in engaging hands-on laboratory
experiences and enjoyed a group lunch; afterward, Salk professor
Fred “Rusty” Gage gave a presentation about the uses for induced
pluripotent stem cells.
While attendee comments about the event were universally positive,
for some students, a half-day behind the scenes at the Institute may havechanged their educational and career plans. “Great, great, great way tospend a Saturday!” said a student from the California Academy of
Mathematics and Science afterward. “I’ve known I wanted to work in
medicine, and this amazing journey opened my horizons to the expansive
careers in science.”
Added a participant from Steele Canyon High School: “This was anamazing experience! I think everyone ‘on the fence’ about their college
plans should experience this.”Rusty Gage gives a fascinating
lecture to the auditorium filledwith students.

22

Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

Geoff Wahl (center) and Bianca Kennedy (right) join Congressman Scott Peters at the press conference to raise awareness about sequestration.

Congressman Scott Peters fights federal cuts to research funding
Congressman Scott Peters, an ardent supporter of federal
funding for scientific research, held a press conference at Salk on February
20, calling on lawmakers to avoid sequestration.
Salk scientist Geoffrey Wahl, a professor in the Gene Expression
Laboratory, and Bianca Kennedy, a patient advocate and breast cancer
survivor, joined the congressman to express their concern over sequestration as well—a potential cut of $2.5 billion to the National Institutes of
Health’s (NIH) budget.
Wahl said that any funding cuts would cripple the scientific landscapeand have an adverse impact on cancer research. “Instead of calling it
sequestration, call it amputation,” he said. “You get to choose which ofyour limbs you want to lose because that’s what it’s going to be.”
NIH funds one third of all biomedical research conducted in the U.S.
and supports 432,000 jobs across the country. Locally, sequestration
could cost San Diego’s science and technology sector about 4,200 jobs
and $290 million in funding.

“According to Wahl, in the past, 25 percent of all grant proposals were
funded. “That would fund all the research you could possibly need to do,”he noted. “In recent years, that has been reduced to 7 percent and will
suffer even further as a result of the sequestration.””

Instead of calling it sequestration, call it amputation.
					– Geoff Wahl			

» Watch the video
www.salk.edu/jun13/video3
www.salk.edu

Inside Salk 08 |13 Institute News

23

Jamie Kasuboski

Salk scientist wins 2013 Andor Insight Award
Jamie Kasuboski, a light microscopy
specialist in the Waitt Advanced Biophotonics
Center Core facility, was the recipient of anAndor Insight Award in this year’s scientificimaging competition, one of three winners
selected out of 90 submissions.
Andor Technology, a world leader inscientific imaging, spectroscopy solutions andmicroscopy systems, launched the international contest four years ago to reward visuallystunning and scientifically captivating images,
spectra, graphics and movies. The winners arechosen by a panel of expert judges who focus onrecognizing the cutting-edge work carried out by

researchers using Andor equipment or Bitplane
software in the fields of physical and life
sciences imaging.
Kasuboski’s winning entry was titled “Whole
Mouse Brain 3D Reconstruction." It was theresult of a collaborative project with fellow
Salk scientist Marina Garrett from the Systems
Neurobiology Laboratories of Edward Callaway toprovide an innovative 3D modeling method forneuronal wiring to better probe and understandneuronal networks. It shows in extraordinary
detail an Imaris 3D reconstruction of a mousebrain, including proteins and neuron structure.
Later analysis counted which regions of the brain

contained specific cell types, providing a vivid
insight into the wiring of the brain.
“The visual impact and scientific value of thisyear’s entries clearly highlights the cutting-edge
work being carried out by researchers using our
products,” says Andrew Dennis, Andor’s director
of product management. “The judges’ selectionof winners provides an interesting insight into
the significance and detail of the researcher’s
work across multiple scientific disciplines.”» View winning entries
www.theinsightawards.com/#!/entries

Daniel C. Lewis honored at Fairleigh Dickinson
Charter Day celebration
Salk Trustee Daniel C. Lewis was honored at Fairleigh Dickinson University’s
24th Annual Charter Day on Friday, June 7, for distinguishing himself as an outstanding leader in
his profession and community.
Lewis earned an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University in 1976 and received a PINNACLE
Award from the university in 2009. A well-known leader in the global transportation, defense andaerospace industries, Lewis served as president and as senior vice president at Booz & Company,
the renowned global management consulting firm, with a career spanning over 30 years.
In March 2012, Lewis and his wife, Martina, established the Daniel and Martina Lewis Chair
at Salk, which is currently held by Geoffrey Wahl, professor in the Institute's Gene Expression
Laboratory. Lewis also joined the Salk Board of Trustees in 2012. In addition to serving on Salk’s
board, he serves as a trustee for Fairleigh Dickinson and is on the dean’s executive council for theCollege of Technology at Purdue University.
Daniel C. Lewis

24

Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

Irwin M. Jacobs awarded 2013
IEEE Medal of Honor
Irwin M. Jacobs, Qualcomm cofounderand chair of Salk’s Board of Trustees, was honoredwith the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 2013 Medal of Honor, the highest
award bestowed by the organization. The IEEEis the world’s largest professional association
dedicated to advancing technological innovationand excellence for the benefit of humanity. The
organization paid tribute to Jacobs extraordinary
accomplishments and also presented 19 medals
and recognitions to other leading technologists at the IEEE Honors Ceremony
held on June 29 in San Diego.
Jacobs, an IEEE Life Fellow, was selected for the honor in recognitionof his leadership and essential contributions to digital communications andwireless technology. He oversaw Qualcomm’s revolutionary innovations in
Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), a technology fundamental
to today’s 3G mobile wireless standards.
Since 1917, the IEEE awards program has recognizedtechnical professionals whose exceptional achievements
and outstanding contributions have made a lasting impact
on technology, society, the engineering profession andhumanity. Recipients of the awards, who are chosen
through peer nomination and approval, are honored as
the most influential members in their chosen field.
Irwin M. Jacobs

Fred Gage recipient of 2013 George A. Miller Prizein Cognitive Neuroscience
Fred Gage, professor in Salk’s Laboratoryof Genetics, was named this year’s winner of the
George A. Miller Prize in Cognitive Neuroscience.
Recipients of the honor are acknowledged for a careerof “distinguished and sustained scholarship andresearch at the cutting edge of cognitive neuroscience,”
and for “extraordinary innovation and high impact
on international scientific thinking.” The Cognitive
Neuroscience Society established the award in 1995 tohonor Miller, whose many theoretical advances greatly
influenced the discipline of cognitive neuroscience.

Gage delivered the George A. Miller Lecture on
April 13, at the 20th annual meeting of the Cognitive
Neuroscience Society, discussing his research on theadult central nervous system and how it can adapt
to the environment over time. His work may lead tomethods of replacing or enhancing brain and spinal
cord tissues lost or damaged due to neurodegenerative
disease or trauma.

Fred Gage

www.salk.edu

Inside Salk 08 |13 Institute News

25

Sydney Brenner

Roger Guillemin

Tony Hunter

Geoffrey M. Wahl

American Association for Cancer Research appoints Salk scientists
to inaugural class of fellows
The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR),
the world’s oldest and largest professional organization dedicated toaccelerating scientific progress to prevent and cure cancer, selected four
Salk scientists and two of the Institute’s nonresident fellows to be inducted
into its first class of fellows of the AACR Academy.
“Membership in the fellows of the AACR Academy will be the mostprestigious honor bestowed by the American Association for Cancer
Research,” says Margaret Foti, chief executive officer of the AACR.
Distinguished professors and Nobel laureates Sydney Brenner andRoger Guillemin, and faculty members Tony Hunter, a professor in the
Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory and director of Salk Institute
Cancer Center, and Geoffrey M. Wahl, a professor in the Gene Expression
Laboratory, were honored at a special ceremony on April 5, at the
National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.
Salk nonresident fellows and Nobel laureates David Baltimore andElizabeth H. Blackburn were also named to the academy.

“It is a great honor to have a team of our scientists chosen for
the inaugural class of the AACR fellows and is indicative of the deep
commitment and impact of our research in fighting cancer,” says Salk
president William R. Brody.
The AACR Fellows Academy is a separate entity within the American
Association for Cancer Research, and only individuals who have madeexceptional contributions to cancer and/or cancer-related biomedical
science are eligible for election. It was created to recognize and honor
distinguished scientists whose major scientific contributions have propelled
significant innovation and progress against cancer.
The inaugural class of fellows includes 106 individuals, to symbolize
the age of the organization upon establishment of the academy. Futureclasses of fellows will consist of no more than 11 individuals, in honor of
the founding members of the American Association for Cancer Research.

Salk scientist elected toAmerican Academy of Arts
and Sciences
Terrence J. Sejnowski, professor and head of Salk’s Computational
Neurobiology Laboratory, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences, one of the nation’s most prestigious honorary societies. It is a distinction
awarded annually to global leaders in business, government, public affairs, the arts andpopular culture, as well as biomedical research.
Sejnowski is world renowned as a pioneer in the field of computational neuroscience,and his work on neural networks helped spark the neural networks revolution in computing
in the 1980s. His research has made important contributions to artificial and real neuralnetwork algorithms and to applying signal processing models to neuroscience.
He is the 12th scientist from Salk to be inducted into the academy and will share thehonor with 198 new members of the 2013 class, which includes Nobel Prize winner
Bruce A. Beutler, philanthropist David M. Rubenstein, astronaut John Glenn, actor Robert
De Niro and singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen. The honorees will be formally inducted
into the academy on October 12, 2013, at its headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
“Election to the academy honors individual accomplishment and calls upon members
to serve the public good,” says academy president Leslie C. Berlowitz. “We look forward to
drawing on the knowledge and expertise of these distinguished men and women to advancesolutions to the pressing policy challenges of the day.”26

Terrence J. Sejnowski
Institute News Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

Discovery Roundup

From left: Sergei Gepshtein and Thomas D. Albright

Despite what you may think, your brain is a mathematical genius
After hours of dodging dangerous drivers, you finallyarrive at a quiet mountain retreat, gaze at a pristine lake and congratulate
yourself for having “turned off your brain.”
But actually, according to Thomas D. Albright, an expert on how thevisual system works, you’ve just given your brain a whole new challenge.
“You may think you’re resting,” he says, “but your brain is automaticallyassessing the spatiotemporal properties of this novel environment—what
objects are in it, are they moving, and if so, how fast are they moving?”
The dilemma is that our brains can only dedicate so many neurons tothis assessment. “It’s a problem in economy of resources,” says Sergei
Gepshtein, a computational neuroscientist and staff scientist in Albright’s
lab. “If the visual system has limited resources, how can it use them
most efficiently?”
Albright, Gepshtein and Luis A. Lesmes, a specialist in measuring
human performance and former Salk postdoctoral researcher now at the
Schepens Eye Research Institute, proposed an answer in a study publishedin Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences that may reconcile thepuzzling contradictions in many earlier studies.
www.salk.edu

Previously, scientists expected that extended exposure to a novel
environment would make you better at detecting its subtle details, such as
the slow motion of waves on that lake. Yet those who tried to confirm thatidea were surprised when their experiments produced contradictory results.
“Sometimes people got better at detecting a stimulus, sometimes they got
worse, sometimes there was no effect at all, and sometimes people got
better, but not for the expected stimulus,” says Albright.
The answer came from asking a new question: What happens when
you look at the problem of resource allocation from a system’s perspective?
It turns out that something’s got to give, and the team’s study details thecomputations the visual system uses to accomplish the adaptation.
“It’s as if the brain’s on a budget; if it devotes 70 percent here, thenit can only devote 30 percent there,” says Gepshtein.
“Simply put, it’s a tradeoff,” Albright adds. “The price of getting betterat one thing is getting worse at another.”Inside Salk 08 |13 Discovery Roundup

27

Discovery Roundup

Salk scientists develop drug that slows
Alzheimer’s in mice
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than
5 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s disease, the sixth leading
cause of death in the country. Despite years of research, there are no
disease-modifying drugs for the condition. Current FDA-approved
medications, including Aricept, Razadyne and Exelon, offer only fleeting
short-term benefits for patients and do nothing to slow the irreversible
decline of brain function that characterizes the disease.
A drug developed by scientists in the lab of David Schubert, however,
reverses memory deficits and slows Alzheimer’s disease in aged micefollowing short-term treatment. The findings, published in Alzheimer’s
Research and Therapy, may pave the way to a new treatment for
Alzheimer’s disease in humans.
In developing the drug, known as J147, Schubert and his colleagues
bucked the trend within the pharmaceutical industry, which has focusedon the biological pathways involved in the formation of amyloid plaques,
the dense deposits of protein that characterize the disease. Instead, theteam used living neurons grown in laboratory dishes to test whether their
new synthetic compounds, which are based upon natural products derived
from plants, were effective at protecting brain cells against several
pathologies associated with brain aging. From the test results of eachchemical iteration of the lead compound, they were able to alter theirchemical structures to make them much more potent.
To test the efficacy of J147 in a much more rigorous preclinicalAlzheimer’s model, the team then treated mice using a therapeuticstrategy that they say more accurately reflects the human symptomaticstage of Alzheimer’s. Administered in the food of 20-month-old genetically engineered mice, at a stage when Alzheimer’s pathology is advanced,
J147 rescued severe memory loss, reduced soluble levels of amyloid,and increased neurotrophic factors essential for memory after only threemonths of treatment. In a different experiment, the scientists tested J147
directly against Aricept, the most widely prescribed Alzheimer's drug, andfound that it performed as well or better in several memory tests.
Although J147 appears to be safe in mice, the next step will requireclinical trials to determine whether the compound will prove safe andeffective in humans, and Schubert and his team are currently seeking
funding for such a trial.

28

Discovery Roundup Inside Salk 08 |13» Watch the video
www.salk.edu/jun13/video1

Salk scientists developed J147, a synthetic drug
shown to improve memory and prevent brain
damage in mice with Alzheimer's disease.

www.salk.edu

How the brain keeps track of similar but distinct memories
The process of taking complex
memories and converting them into representations that are less easily confused is known aspattern separation. Computational models ofbrain function suggest that the dentate gyrus,
a subregion of the hippocampus, helps us perform pattern separation of memories by activating different groups of neurons when an animal
is in different environments. Previous laboratory
studies, however, found that the same populations of neurons in the dentate gyrus are activein different environments and that the cells
distinguished new surroundings by changing therate at which they sent electrical impulses—adiscrepancy that perplexed neuroscientists.
A team of scientists led by Fred H. Gage
has now discovered how the dentate gyrus
helps keep memories of similar events andenvironments separate.
“Every day, we have to remember subtle
differences between how things are today versus
how they were yesterday—from where weparked our car to where we left our cellphone,”
explains Gage. “We found how the brain makesthese distinctions, by storing separate ‘recordings’ of each environment in the dentate gyrus.”

Gage’s team compared the functioning of themouse dentate gyrus and another region of the
hippocampus, known as CA1, using laboratory
techniques for tracking the activity of neurons
at multiple time points. What they found wasthat the dentate gyrus and CA1 subregions
functioned differently. In CA1, the same neurons
were active during the learning and retrieval ofmemories. In the dentate gyrus, however, distinctgroups of cells were active during learning
episodes and retrieval, and exposing the mice totwo subtly different environments activated two
distinct groups of cells in the dentate gyrus.
“This finding supported the predictionsof theoretical models that different groups ofcells are activated during exposure to similar,
but distinct, environments,” says postdoctoral
researcher Wei Deng. “This contrasts with thefindings of previous laboratory studies, possibly
because they looked at different subpopulationsof neurons in the dentate gyrus.”
In clarifying how the brain stores anddistinguishes between memories, the discovery,
reported in eLife, may also help identify how
neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s
rob people of these abilities.

Salk researchers discovered how the brain keeps track of similar but
distinct memories. This microscope image shows neural activity inthe dentate gyrus, a subsection of the hippocampus where distinctgroups of cells were active during the learning episodes (green) andmemory retrieval (red).

Smoke signals: How burning plants tell seeds to rise from the ashes
In the spring following a forest fire, trees that survived
the blaze explode in new growth, and plants sprout in abundance from thescorched earth. For centuries, it’s been a mystery how seeds, some longdormant in the soil, know to push through the ashes to regenerate theburned forest.
But a team led by Joseph P. Noel and Joanne Chory has now cracked
the mystery behind this fundamental “circle of life.” In addition to explaining how fires lead to regeneration of forests and grasslands, their findings,
reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may aid
in the development of plant varieties that help maintain and restore ecosystems that support all human societies.
“This is a very important and fundamental process of ecosystem
renewal around the planet that we really didn’t understand,” explains Noel.
“Now we know the molecular triggers for how it occurs.”

www.salk.edu“What we discovered,” Chory adds, “is how a dying plant generates achemical message for the next generation, telling dormant seeds it’s timeto sprout.”
In previous studies, scientists had discovered that chemicals known as
karrikins are created as trees and shrubs burn during a forest fire, and theyremain in the soil after the fire, ensuring that the forest will regenerate.
This new study sought to uncover exactly how karrikins stimulate new plant
growth. First, the Salk researchers determined the structure of a plant
protein known as KAI2, which binds to a karrikin in dormant seeds. Then,comparing the karrikin-bound KAI2 protein to the structure of an unbound
KAI2 protein allowed the team to speculate how KAI2 allows a seed toperceive karrikins in its environment.
The chemical structures they solved revealed all the molecular contacts
between a karrikin and KAI2. The study also showed that when a karrikin
binds to the KAI2 protein, it causes a change in its shape, which may
send a new signal to other proteins in the seeds. These other protein
players, together with karrikin and KAI2, generate the signal causing seedgermination at the right place and time after a wildfire.
More research is needed to understand exactly how the change in shapeof the KAI2 protein activates a genetic pathway that regulates germination,says Chory. “But,” she notes, “this finding is an absolutely critical step inunderstanding this genetic program and how plant ecosystems, forests andgrasslands renew themselves.”
Inside Salk 08 |13 Discovery Roundup

29

Discovery Roundup

Beverly M. Emerson

The image to the right shows in brown color the activation of TGFß signaling (left) andp53 levels (right) in a breast biopsy from a patient diagnosed with ductal carcinoma
in situ and invasive carcinoma. TGFß1 deactivates the main pathway directing the
response to chemotherapeutic drugs, and cellular stress, suggesting a potential new
therapy to prevent early stages cancers progression and drug resistance.

Protein preps cells to survive stress of cancer growth and chemotherapy
A team of scientists in the lab of Beverly M. Emerson
has uncovered a survival mechanism that occurs in breast cells thathave just turned premalignant—cells on the cusp between normalcy andcancers—which may lead to new methods of stopping tumors. In theirstudy, published in Molecular Cell, the group reported that a protein
known as transforming growth factor beta (TGF-ß), considered a tumor
suppressor in early cancer development, can actually promote cancer oncea cell drifts into a precancerous state. The discovery—a surprise to theinvestigators—raises the tantalizing possibility that with novel treatment,
some cancers might be prevented before they even develop.
TGF-ß molecules are secreted proteins found in most human tissues.
They play a number of different biological roles, including controlling cellproliferation and inflammation and assisting in wound healing. The
prevailing dogma in cancer research is that TGF-ß signaling keeps cells
from morphing into cancer, explains Fernando Lopez-Diaz, a researcher
in Emerson’s lab who spearheaded the study.
The researchers conducted the study to learn exactly how TGF-ß andp53, a known tumor suppressor, interact in cancer development, examining premalignant as well as cancer cells from breast and lung tumors and“matching normal and premalignant breast cells from healthy women. No
matter how many different ways they did their experiments, the team foundthat TGF-ß can interfere with cells’ damage responses in premalignant orcancer cells.
“The bad face of TGF-ß emerged within just a few cell divisions awayfrom normality, allowing cells to avoid death,” Lopez-Diaz says.
This newfound immortality explains many oncologic mysteries, he says.
One is that it sheds light on how premalignant and early cancer cells areable to withstand the assault of chemotherapy and other treatments. It may
also explain why 77 percent of breast cancers have a normal p53 gene,and it further suggests a way that cancer cells can use both to metastasize
and survive the journey to organs where they set up a new home.
Agents designed to inhibit TGF-ß are already being tested against
cancers that have spread, says Emerson. “This study offers both significant
insights into early cancer development and a new direction to explore incancer treatment,” she adds. “It would be fantastic if a single agent could
shut down both advanced cancer and cancer that is primed to develop.”

This study offers both significant insights into early cancer development and a30”

new direction to explore in cancer treatment.

Discovery Roundup Inside Salk 08 |13– Beverly M. Emersonwww.salk.edu

Discovery Roundup
Salk researchers chart epigenomics of stem cells
that mimic early human development
Scientists have long known that
control mechanisms known collectively as“epigenetics” play a critical role in humandevelopment, but they did not know precisely
how alterations in this extra layer of biochemical
instructions in DNA contribute to development.
Now, in the first comprehensive analysis of
epigenetic changes that occur during development, published in Cell, a multi-institutionalgroup of scientists, co-led by Joseph R. Ecker,
has discovered how modifications in key
epigenetic markers influence human embryonicstem cells as they differentiate into specialized
cells in the body.
Scientists have established that the gene
expression program encoded in DNA is carriedout by proteins that bind to regulatory genes
and modulate gene expression in response toenvironmental cues. Growing evidence now
shows that maintaining this process depends
on biochemical processes that alter gene
expression as cells divide and differentiate fromembryonic stem cells into specific tissues.

Epigenetic modifications—collectively known
as the epigenome—control which genes areturned on or off without changing the letters of
the DNA alphabet (A-T-C-G), providing cells withan additional tool to fine-tune how genes control
the cellular machinery.
In their study, Ecker and collaborators fromseveral prominent U.S. research institutions
examined the beginning state of cells, before
and after they developed into specific cell types.
Starting with a single cell type, the teamfollowed the cells’ epigenome from development
to different cell states, looking at the dynamics
in changes to epigenetic marks from one state
to another. They found that sections of the DNA
that activate regulatory genes, which in turncontrol the activity of other genes, tend to havedifferent amounts of the letters “C” and “G” ofthe DNA alphabet, depending on when these regulatory genes are turned on during development.
On the other hand, genes active in more mature
cells whose tissue type is already determined
tend to be CG-poor and regulated by DNA

Joseph R. Ecker

methylation. The results suggest that distinct
epigenetic mechanisms regulate early and latestates of embryonic stem cell differentiation.
“Epigenomic studies of how stem cells differentiate into distinct cell types are a great way
to understand early development of animals,”says Ecker. “If we understand how these cells’
lineages originate, we can understand if something goes right or wrong during differentiation.
It’s a very basic study, but there are implications
for being able to produce good-quality cell types
for various therapies.”

Salk scientists found that the diabetes drug phenformin was effective at reducing tumor
size in mice with lung cancer. The image on the left shows tumors (dark purple) treatedwith a placebo) compared to those treated with phenformin (right).

» Watch the video
www.salk.edu/jun13/video2

Diabetes drug could hold promise for lung cancer patients
Over the past decade, growing
evidence that cancer and metabolism areconnected has emerged from a number oflaboratories, including that of Reuben Shaw.
Although scientists are still working to identify
what tumors might be most responsive andwhich drugs most useful, Shaw and a team ofscientists have recently found that phenformin,a derivative of the widely used diabetes drug
metformin, decreased the size of lung tumors
in mice and increased the animals’ survival.
The findings, reported in Cancer Cell, may give
hope to the nearly 30 percent of patients with
non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose
tumors lack LKB1 (also called STK11).
The LKB1 gene turns on a metabolic
enzyme called AMPK when energy levels of
ATP, molecules that store the energy we needwww.salk.edu

for just about everything we do, run low in cells.
Cells that lack LKB1 are unable to sense metabolic stress and initiate the process to restore
their ATP levels following a metabolic change.
As a result, they run out of cellular energy andundergo apoptosis, or programmed cell death,
whereas cells with intact LKB1 are alerted tothe crisis and correct their metabolism.
This knowledge led Shaw and his group to aclass of drugs that lower cellular energy levels
by attacking the power stations of the cell, called
mitochondria. Metformin and phenformin both
inhibit mitochondria; however, phenformin isnearly 50 times more potent. In the study, theresearchers tested phenformin as a chemotherapy agent in genetically engineered mice thatlacked LKB1 and had advanced-stage lungtumors. After three weeks of treatment, they saw
a modest reduction in tumor burden in the mice.
In further testing on mice with earlier stage
disease, Shaw, in collaboration with David
Shackelford (a former postdoctoral researcher in
Shaw’s lab who is now at UCLA’s David Geffen
School of Medicine), found that early phenformin treatment increased survival and slowed theprogression of tumors lacking LKB1. It had no
significant benefit for tumors with alterations inother lung cancer genes, however.
The work provides proof of principle anda basis to initiate human studies. If enoughclinicians who believe in investigating phenformin can be organized, then phenformin as ananti-cancer agent could be a reality in the next
several years.
Inside Salk 08 |13 Discovery Roundup

31

Discovery Roundup

This image shows mouse liver tissue with fibrosis (red), a type of scarring caused by chronic liver diseases and injuries. Salk researchers found that adrug already approved by the FDA for the treatment of psoriasis deactivates the switch governing the fibrotic response in mouse liver cells, suggesting
a potential new therapy for fibrotic diseases in humans.

Sunshine hormone, vitamin D, may offer hope for treating liver fibrosis
There are currently no effective drugs for liver
fibrosis, the accumulation of tough, fibrous scar tissue that occurs inmost types of chronic liver diseases. Existing therapeutic approaches,
which treat the symptoms of liver disease, do not stop liver fibrosis
from progressing.
Researchers led by Ronald M. Evans, however, have recently discoveredthat a synthetic, hormonally active form of vitamin D, calcipotriol (a drug
already approved by the FDA to treat psoriasis), deactivates the switch
governing the fibrotic response in mouse liver cells, suggesting a potential new therapy for fibrotic diseases in humans. Their study, which wasreported in Cell, focused on a star-shaped “stellate” cell in the liver thatserves as a beacon for damage. When called into action, stellate cells
produce fibrotic proteins in an attempt to heal an injury. Under chronic
stress, localized fibrosis expands, eventually leading to cirrhosis, increased
risk of liver cancer and even the need for a liver transplant.
The Evans lab discovered a genetic switch through which vitamin
D–related ligands such as calcitriol can put the brakes on fibrosis.

32

Discovery Roundup Inside Salk 08 |13“Preclinical results suggest the ‘vitamin D brake’ is highly efficaciousand led us to believe that the time is right to consider a trial in thecontext of chronic liver disease,” says Evans.
Previous studies have shown a physiologic role for vitamin D inliver function, says Ning Ding, a research associate in Evans’s group,
but he notes that it was the discovery of high levels of vitamin D receptor(VDR) in the stellate cell that led the team to consider it as a possible
off switch for liver fibrosis.
In liver diseases where the underlying cause cannot be cured,
progression to cirrhosis is currently inevitable in some people. What
Evans’s team has discovered is that by acting on the genome, VDR
can simultaneously defend against multiple fibrotic activators. This isimportant because many different pro-fibrotic signaling pathways converge
on the genome to affect their fibrotic response. Their discovery suggests
a potentially safer, more effective strategy capable of neutralizing these
multiple convergent fibrotic triggers.

www.salk.edu

The nextgeneration:
Putting the “super” in super-mom!
Dino Morvinski balances parenting with
cutting-edge cancer researchwww.salk.edu

Inside Salk 08 |13 Next Generation

33

Dinorah “Dino” Friedmann-Morvinski is a telenovelawatching, cake-baking mother of three who also happens to be working
on a cure for brain cancer.
Morvinski, a postdoctoral researcher at the Salk Institute, shrugs off
her stereotype-busting life. “I’m just normal,” she says. Despite her
disclaimer, quite a few people find her ability to juggle competing
demands on her time extraordinary. “I’m amazed that anyone with three
young children can be so focused and energetic,” says her mentor, Salk
professor Inder Verma.
Verma and Morvinski recently published a paper in Science describing
their fundamental discovery about glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an
aggressive cancer with an extremely poor prognosis. The disease wasnamed for the brain’s glia cells, non-neuronal brain cells that are essential
for brain health.
Research into genetics, however, has begun to suggest that cancers may
not always originate from the types of cells for which they are named. GBM
had already been found to originate from neural stem cells, immature cells
that could develop into any type of cells in the brain. That was a hint thatthe glia/glioblastoma assumption needed to be re-examined. Morvinski,
along with Verma, holder of the Irwin and Joan Jacobs Chair in Exemplary
Life Science, decided to confirm whether GBM truly did start in glia cells.

34

Next Generation Inside Salk 08 |13

Morvinski’s research was greatly aided by conversations withFred “Rusty” Gage, who holds the Vi and John Adler Chair for Researchon Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease and who has done pioneeringresearch on neural stem cells, overturning the conventional wisdom thatthe brain did not grow new cells.
“That’s the wonderful thing about Salk—everything is open,” says
Morvinski. “You have someone who’s a giant in his field, and all you haveto do is knock on his door. It’s incredible that we have this community.”
Morvinski found GBM in glia, as well as in neural stem cells, but
unexpectedly, also in mature adult neurons. Speaking together, thescientists realized they’d been looking at only part of a far bigger idea.
They wondered, says Morvinski, “if glia, neural stem cells, and matureneurons can all be the cell of origin—maybe any cell in the brain
could be?”More than a year’s worth of experiments later, they worked out thecomplete story. Glioblastomas can originate when a mature cell, such asa neuron or a glial cell, genetically sets itself back to the state of a stem
cell, as part of the transformation process to become a cancer cell. Unlike
mature cells, in this state cells can proliferate—growing wild as tumors.
The team’s results explain why tumors recur. It isn’t merely that asurgeon left behind some malignant tissue or that chemotherapy wasn’t

www.salk.edu

“That’s the wonderfulthing about Salk—
everything is open,You
have someone who’s agiant in his field, andall you have to do isknock on his door. It’s
incredible that we have		this community.

”– Dino Morvinski

The Cancer
Genome Atlas
From left: Coby, Gail, Lian, Dinorah and Millie

fully effective. The profound problem is thatapparently transformed and differentiated cells
contain within themselves the genetic trigger
to revert to proliferating cells.
“What it tells us is that it’s not just a question of better targeting chemotherapies, but of
discovering what is it that makes a cancer cellrevert to a stem cell–like state and block that,”says Morvinski. She and her colleagues are
currently performing a new series of experiments
to find the answer.
Altogether it took nearly four years to produce
the Science paper, an example of the tenacious
patience required for world-class science—andthat patience is a good explanation for why
science is not incompatible with Morvinski’s
other job as a mother of three children under
the age of 11.
Granted, she admits, it isn’t easy. She
copes by being extremely organized. “Whenyou know you have only nine hours, you haveto be focused,” she says. “You lay out yourexperiments, and you know whom you needto question.” Another important factor is theflexibility that Verma’s lab offers, as well as thescientific and technical support in his laboratory
and the Salk Institute.
But there’s something else that contributes
to balance. “Not everything can be science,”
she says. “I also need my own Dino time. I lovebaking cakes for my kids, and I also love watching Argentinian telenovelas. My friends say,www.salk.edu‘You’ll burn your neurons watching those things!’
I say, ‘I just need an hour where I don’t need touse my brain!’”Most importantly, she emphasizes, sheand her husband Coby fully support each other.
“When you have kids and you want to do
science, you need a 50 percent partner—
that’s my secret,” she says. “It’s not that I do
everything alone!”
They met in Israel, after Dino left her
native Uruguay, where she’d received one of
the country’s first degrees in biochemistry.
“Uruguay is still the third world for science;
to advance you have to go abroad,” she says.
“I studied at the Weizmann Institute, wherecoincidentally, Inder had also trained.”
They take turns with their children and evenwith their careers. Originally a telecommunications engineer, Coby moved to America for
Dino"s career, and now she’s staying in America
longer than originally planned while he finishes
his Ph.D. in business administration at UCSD’s
Rady School of Management. They plan to return
to Israel, where she already has professorshipoffers, to raise their family.
“I never expected I would wind up working in
brain cancer,” she says. “But I love what I do,
and if you ask the right questions, everything is
open to you—and that’s what science is—learning to ask the right questions. You just need thefreedom to pursue the answers. Inder gave methat freedom in his lab, and there’s no limit.”

Every human being is born with agenome: the millions of letters of DNA
that contain short sequences called genes.
Cancers, too, have genomes, which determine how they will develop and interact
both with a patient’s tissues and withtherapeutics. Genes are ultimately translated into proteins, which regulate function
and communication in cells. Many proteins
are shaped like puzzle pieces, into which
other proteins—and drug molecules—fit.
If a cancer lacks a certain gene, the protein
will never be made, and the molecules ofan anticancer drug will have no place toanchor. This is only one example of the
intricate interactions between genes
and cancer.
In order to have a roadmap to theseinteractions, the National Cancer Instituteand National Human Genome ResearchInstitute created the Cancer Genome Atlas,an ongoing repository of the genomes ofvarious subtypes of cancers. The ultimate
promise of genomic medicine is that adoctor will receive the genomes of boththe patient and the tumor and use themto customize an effective course of treatment. In order for that promise to be
fulfilled, scientists depend on the atlas,which Morvinski used for her glioblastoma studies. “It’s like what the map ofMars is for NASA,” says Verma. “It’s anongoing collaboration among hundredsof scientists that points the direction for
future explorations.”

Inside Salk 08 |13 Next Generation

35

The audience shares a laugh at the third annual Salk Women & Science event.

Women & Science shines spotlight on plant biology
The theme was plant biology on
March 19, when more than 70 female
business and community leaders gathered
for the Institute’s third Women & Science
event. Showcasing research being conductedby female Salk faculty, the afternoon program
was a rare opportunity for attendees to learn
about discoveries that may shape the futureof food and fuel production.
Following a welcome by Catherine Rivier,professor emerita of the Clayton Foundation
Laboratories for Peptide Biology, Joanne Chory,

professor and director of the Plant Molecular
and Cellular Biology Laboratory, gave a talktitled “Seven billion and counting: How do
we feed and fuel the planet?” In addition to
discussing her lab’s research on plants’ signaling
pathways, which enable them to detect changes
in sunlight, she spoke about her team’s efforts
to discover the molecular triggers that control
plant growth, which has the potential to vastly
improve agriculture yields.
Julie Law, a new assistant professor in the
Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Labora-

tory, then described her work to elucidate themechanisms by which epigenetic modifications
are translated into stable expressions—an areaof plant biology that is poorly understood andthat impacts gene regulation, imprinting,genome activity and development.
The 2013 Women & Science program isgenerously underwritten by Union Bank. For
more information on the Women & Science
program, contact Betsy Reis, director of donor
relations, at 858.453.4100 x1426 or by email
at breis@salk.edu.

From left: Attendees Linda Stouffer and Crystal Sargent enjoy a discussion after the lecture.

women& science» Watch the video
www.salk.edu/jun13/video4/

36

Philanthropy Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

From left to right: Salk alumni Beth Anne Baber, Philip Low, Anthony Craig and William AlaynickFirst Annual Alumni Mixer features Salk scientists, past and present
The significance of the inaugural event was not lost on the attendees.
“It’s our hope that Salk alumni and current scientists can continue to build
meaningful connections around our shared experience of the Institute,”
noted Chris Kintner, a professor in the Molecular Neurobiology Lab andfaculty chair of the event.
Training the next generation of scientists is central to Salk’s mission.
Approximately 235 postdocs from over 50 countries work in Salk labs,
and 100 percent of contributions to the Alumni-Faculty Fellowship Fund
will support a research associate each year. To learn more about the Salk
Alumni program, visit www.salk.edu/alumni.

Salk established a new tradition on May 14 at theInstitute’s first-ever Alumni Mixer. The special evening included apanel discussion for Salk postdocs and graduate students featuring
Salk alumni William Alaynick, Beth Anne Baber, Anthony Craig andPhilip Low. Afterward, faculty, alumni, postdocs and graduate
students enjoyed poster sessions on Salk’s current research andremarks from this year’s Alumni-Faculty Fellowship recipient, research
associate Kevin Curran.
Curran, who works in Sreekanth Chalasani’s Molecular Neurobiology
Laboratory, presented his early stage work in behavioral neurobiology—
specifically, the cellular and genetic mechanisms of behavior using
C. elegans, a small invertebrate model system. The ability for an organism
to respond appropriately to a stressful or potentially harmful situation,such as facing a predator, is critical to the survival and wellbeing of theorganism. In humans, malfunctions in this neurobiological process lead tocostly and debilitating diseases, such as panic attacks and post-traumaticstress disorder.
“I consider myself very fortunate to be awarded the Alumni-Faculty
Fellowship,” Curran explained. “This type of ‘high risk/high reward’ project
is often overlooked with traditional government funding. In the coming year,
the fellowship will allow me to conduct a drug screen in order to further
identify the molecular pathways that modulate threat avoidance behavior.”

Save the date for the next Alumni Mixer
on June 26, 2014.
Kevin Curran, who was awarded the 2013 Alumni-Faculty Fellowship, with last year's recipient Seung Choi“

It’s our hope that Salk alumni andcurrent scientists can continue tobuild meaningful connections aroundour shared experience of the Institute.
– Chris Kintner

www.salk.edu”

		Inside Salk 08 |13 Philanthropy

37salk cell
Salkexcellerators on both coasts discover the cutting edge of science
It’s a group without boundaries—a bicoastal gathering of men and women from across the professional spectrum, who share
an appreciation for fine cuisine; a preference for friendly, easygoing networking opportunities; and most especially, a passion
for science and the Salk Institute.
As their name suggests, the Salkexcellerators, who range from professionals in the arts and entertainment industries
to the legal and financial sectors (and everything in between), are helping to sustain excellence and accelerate the pace of
discovery at the Institute. At the same time they enjoy regular Salkexcellerators get-togethers with their colleagues and friends,
they are making a profound difference through their annual commitment, which funds fellowships for postdocs at Salk. It’s apowerful combination and one that promises to have an enduring impact on scientific discovery.
This past spring, the Salkexcellerators enjoyed special events in New York and La Jolla, where they socialized, networked,
savored gourmet food and learned about the leading-edge science their support is helping to propel forward.

From left: Pam Westbrook, John McCormick, Len Hedge and Mike Lowe

38

Philanthropy Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

From left: Dan Meader, Laing Rikkers, Jim Harries, Allison Stratton and John Rikkers

San Diego Salkexcellerators
Some 60 members of the San Diego Salkexcellerators
gathered at the Salk Institute on May 15 to network, visit with friends
and enjoy a presentation by Fred “Rusty” Gage, a professor in the
Laboratory of Genetics and the holder of the Vi and John Adler Chair
for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease. In his lecture,“Modeling Psychiatric Disease with Human Stem Cells,” Gage explained
how his lab has studied human neurological and psychiatric diseases
in vitro using human stem cells. The revolutionary technique involves

obtaining skin cells from affected individuals. Then, through genetic
reprogramming, these cells are altered to produce induced pluripotent stem
cells, which are cultured and differentiated into neurons. Since these cells
carry the same genetic code as the skin cells they originated from, theyalso carry the disease, creating in a dish a small-scale model of a diseased
brain and providing an opportunity to study the biological factors behind
psychiatric and neurological diseases.

Get Involved
Salkexcellerators are community members committed to supporting scientific discovery at Salk. Join us at events throughout the year in La Jolla
and New York City, including private receptions and scientific presentations with Salk’s renowned scientists. One hundred percent of contributions to
the Salkexcellerators Fund provide annual fellowships to gifted postdoctoral scholars. For more information, please visit www.salk.edu/salkexcellerators
or call (858) 453-4100 x1405.

New York Salkexcellerators
The owner of New York’s exclusive members-only Norwood
Club describes it as “a home for the curious.” And that quality was verymuch in evidence at the New York Salkexcellerators gathering there on
April 22. The event drew an eclectic audience of 60 to the Greenwich
Village venue, a perfectly preserved 1847 mansion that is on the National
Register of Historic Places.
The program featured Greg Lemke, a professor in the Molecular
Neurobiology Laboratory and holder of the Francoise Gilot-Salk Chair.
Lemke studies the regulation of signaling networks that control immune
system function. In his presentation, titled “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice:www.salk.edu

Taming Viruses and Autoimmune Disease,” he discussed how in theabsence of regulation, a biological system is akin to the mythical sorcerer’s
apprentice, setting in motion a chain of events over which it has no control.
This can lead to the development of autoimmune diseases such as lupus,
multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as contribute to infection by West Nile, influenza and dengue viruses. Fortunately, a corollary to
Newton’s Third Law of Motion (for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction) is also true within biology—the ability to turn a biologicalresponse on is always coupled with a means for turning it off—and Lemke
explained to the rapt audience how these lifesaving mechanisms work.

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Salk’s 41st Annual Tax Seminarfor Private Foundations
Now in its 41st year, Salk’s Annual Tax Seminar forPrivate Foundations was held this past May at The Lodge at Torrey
Pines. The three-day program is a much welcome annual event for the
non-profit community, with its expert discussions of tax law, governance,and management for private, family and community foundations.
Among the program’s highlights was a panel discussion mediatedby Seminar Chairman and Salk donor Edwin K. Hunter, who garnered
the participation of numerous community foundation directors from acrossthe country. Panelists Adrienne Vargas and BH Kim from The San Diego
Foundation, Alice Parkerson from the Greater New Orleans Foundation,
and Trish Worthington from the Park City Community Foundation
discussed their community foundations and successful philanthropy.
In his Friday keynote speech, Bob Kelly, president and CEO of The San
Diego Foundation, addressed partnerships between private foundations
and community foundations.
Not all the experts in attendance were tax specialists. On Thursday
afternoon, Salk faculty members Tom Albright, Beverly Emerson,
Clodagh O’Shea and Sam Pfaff gave presentations on their research to
From left: Mark Collins, Glenn Foundation for Medical Research, Inc.; Salk scientist
Jan Karlseder and Lily Collins

From left: Edwin K. Hunter, Chair of the Tax Seminar, and Salk President Bill Brody.

the seminar’s participants, who enjoyed an afternoon of engaging sciencetalks (the temptation of great golfing weather notwithstanding).
“The event is our way of giving back to donors and friends of Salk,”says Seth Schechter, Salk’s Executive Director of Foundation Relations.
“We are always delighted by their participation, and honored to be ofservice to the non-profit community.”
From left: Adrienne Vargas, The San Diego Foundation; BH Kim, The San Diego Foundation; Alice Parkerson,
Greater New Orleans Foundation; Trish Worthington, Park City Community Foundation

Back to Basics
on metabolism
Salk supporters gathered for thelatest Back to Basics lecture on April 3, whichfeatured Marc Montminy, professor in the Clayton
Foundation Laboratories for Peptide Biology,
and Satchidananda Panda of Salk’s regulatory
Biology Laboratory.
Montminy kicked off the event by sharing his
lab’s latest research on metabolism. His lecture
ranged from general information about the humandiet and activity over millennia to today’s growing
obesity epidemic. Panda followed with a talk on
circadian rhythms and their complex implications
for diet and metabolism. Both presentations
captivated the enthusiastic audience and prompted
a lively question and answer session.
Audience member Harry Anthony (left) engaged in an animatedconversation with Satchidananda Panda at the Back to Basics reception

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Philanthropy Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

Members of WASI on a tour of the Institute.

Fifty years later, the Institute remembers its first support organization
When Jonas Salk relocated to San
Diego from Pittsburgh more than half a century
ago, local citizens grateful for his discovery of
the polio vaccine were eager to help his fledgling
research enterprise succeed. During the Salk
Institute’s 1962 groundbreaking ceremony,
Sally Cohn, wife of a prominent local rabbi who
spoke at the event, approached Salk to suggest
a women’s auxiliary—a volunteer group that,typical of the day, would provide support throughvarious fundraising activities and augment theseed funding from the March of Dimes. From
those modest origins, a tradition of philanthropy
was born, setting the stage for decades ofcommunity investment and involvement in the
Salk Institute, as well as today’s robust networkof support activities.
Cohn’s brainchild came into being on
May 17, 1963, when she led the first meetingof the Women’s Association for the Salk Institute(WASI), as the new organization was called.
Bernice Layne Brown, wife of California governor
Edmund G. “Pat” Brown (and mother of thestate’s current governor, Jerry Brown) andDorothy Mae Dail, wife of San Diego mayor
Charles Dail, became honorary members,
with Dail also serving as treasurer. In time,
the group morphed into the Salk Institute
Association (SIA), diversifying its membershipto include men.
www.salk.edu

By its tenth anniversary, the SIA had raised
nearly $250,000, providing grants to graduate
students and purchasing much-needed scientificequipment. Members also conducted tours of
the Institute, ran the gift shop and helped create
two of Salk’s longstanding traditions: HighSchool Science Day (now named in honor of the
March of Dimes, a continuing supporter) and
Symphony at Salk, launched through theleadership of Betty Vale (wife of the renowned
late Salk faculty member Wylie Vale). It was
SIA members who served the food and wine at
the inaugural Symphony at Salk. “I worked sohard, I felt I was back in college,” recalls Peggy
Matthews, a former retail promotions director
who also headed public relations for the SIA
and coordinated fashion show fundraisers.
While the opportunity to help support oneof the world’s great research institutions morethan compensated for their hard work, SIA
members also treasured the opportunity to get
to know one of the pivotal figures of the 20th
century, Jonas Salk. “I had the honor of going
through Dr. Salk’s papers after he passed away,”says former SIA president Ottilie Baer. “In abuilding at the back of the parking lot, known as
the bungalow, there were stacks and stacks offiling cabinets and drawers. We went from one
room to another to make three piles: one for

the Institute, one for the family and one for theuniversity across the street.”Today, the SIA, now disbanded, remains a
fond memory of an earlier time. Former SIA
volunteers still gather for luncheons, where
they keep up with each other and Salk news.
Many continue to visit the Institute to assist
with special events and architectural tours andto ensure Salk’s future as Partners in Researchsupporters—donors who have included theInstitute in their estate plans.
Their greatest legacy, however, is both lesstangible and more enduring: the robust foundation they created for the ongoing philanthropic
support of the Institute. Today’s Campaign for
Salk may be the Institute’s first-ever capital
campaign, but it owes an indisputable debt tothat pioneering group of visionary volunteers
who began meeting 50 years ago. Captivatedby the idea of a revolutionary new basic science
research institute, they set about providing
many of the resources it needed. Subsequent
fundraising successes—and the transformative
discoveries they have helped facilitate—literally
would not have been possible without theindispensable groundwork that the men andwomen of the Salk Institute Association laid
for the future.

Inside Salk 08 |13 Philanthropy

41

Salk Science Leads to Discoveries.
Impacting Human HeaLth begins at the Salk.

Scientific discovery at the Salk Institute is made possible through annual
contributions from individuals, organizations, corporations and foundations.
Your support will accelerate the pace of breakthroughs in understanding
disease and pave the way to new drug therapies. To learn more, please
visit www.salk.edu/support or call 858.453.4100 x1405.

Get Involved
Friends of Salk
Unrestricted gifts, in any amount, provide funding where it is most needed and allows our scientists to conduct critical
early-stage research. Contributors up to $2,500 receive Inside Salk magazine and invitations to annual events.
Salkexcellerators
Salkexcellerators are community members in San Diego and New York City who share a commitment to supporting
scientific discovery at Salk. Members receive invitations to private receptions and scientific presentations by Salk
scientists on the most critical health-related issues of the 21st century. Engagement ranges from $500 to $5,000.
President’s Club
Contributions at the President’s Club level ($2,500-$25,000) are allocated to the area of greatest need and make itpossible for us to recruit and retain top-tier scientists, acquire the latest technology, and fuel innovative research initiatives;
all of which provide extraordinary opportunities for discovery.
Engagement at the President’s Club level ensures you will enjoy unique opportunities to interact with Salk’s renowned
scientists and receive an invitation to the annual holiday luncheon with Salk’s President.
Chairman’s Circle
Chairman’s Circle visionary donors support the Institute’s mission with unrestricted annual gifts of $25,000 andabove. Their generous support fills a vital need for the Institute by providing the world’s finest minds in science withthe resources to pursue discoveries at the frontier of human knowledge. Donors are invited to exclusive lab tours andspecial events with senior researchers that provide opportunities to discuss specific areas of interest. Donors receive
Salk publications and individual reports on the impact of their gifts.
Special Projects
If you have a special interest in one of Salk’s areas of research, such as cancer, aging, diabetes, neuroscience, genetics,
vision or plant biology, you may designate your gift to support investigations in that field. You may also elect to support thework of a young scientist with a fellowship or Salk’s education outreach programs. You will be privy to exclusive updates
and invitations.
Partners in Research
Salk’s legacy society, Partners in Research, welcomes those who have included Salk in their estate plans. Charitable giftplanning is a powerful way of ensuring your legacy lives on, and it can maximize tax and other financial benefits to you,your family, and the Institute. Partners in Research members receive special communications and are invited to events
throughout the year.

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Philanthropy Inside Salk 08 |13

www.salk.edu

William R. Brody, M.D., Ph.D.
President, Salk Institute
Irwin M. Jacobs Presidential Chair

Faster cures come from faster discoveries
The first decade of the 21st century witnessed a dramatic drop in the number of new drugs
approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, a decline that some attribute to more
stringent requirements imposed by the FDA. While this observation may be partly correct,
the fact is that the beginning of the millennium was a watershed for drug development. Thiswas in large part thanks to rapid advances taking place in basic science laboratories, such as
those at the Salk Institute.
As scientists discovered specific drug targets, usually genes or proteins that ran amok in
disease states such as cancer or diabetes, pharmaceutical and biotech companies began torely less on the traditional shotgun approach to finding new treatments. Instead they focusedon taking advantage of the explosion of information coming from basic science laboratories.
With better intelligence in hand, they could more predictably target the errant molecule witha chemical or antibody.
As many of these precision therapeutics now make their way through the pipeline, I believe wewill see a wealth of new drugs that have amazingly powerful results. A number of them will be
used to treat diseases for which good therapies are lacking, such as lung cancer, melanoma
and autoimmune disorders. The ability to treat these difficult diseases will have a tremendous
impact on people’s health and on society.
At Salk, we are ramping up to help usher in this new era of targeted drugs. The recent grant tocreate the Helmsley Center for Genomic Medicine is greatly enhancing our ability to conduct
interdisciplinary research that helps identify the genetic basis for chronic diseases across the
spectrum, from diabetes to cancer to neurologic disorders to diseases of aging. The center
will look for common threads that may underpin a number of seemingly unrelated chronic
diseases. Perhaps equally exciting, these new tools for finding targets allow Salk scientists toparticipate in the translation of their discoveries into clinical treatments on a much greater
scale than was heretofore possible.
The Helmsley Center will speed the pace of basic research, which is crucial to Salk’s mission.
That’s because faster discoveries beget faster cures—and cures change lives.

www.salk.edu

Inside Salk 08 |13 Insider’s View

43

NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE

PA I D

10010 N Torrey Pines Rd
La Jolla, California 92037

PERMIT NO. 611
SAN DIEGO, CA

Telephone: 858.453.4100
Fax: 858.552.8285
www.salk.edu

There are many ways to support Salk. For detailed information on opportunities, please email giving@salk.edu or call 858.550.0472

Salk Calendar
October
2 Back to Basics
6 Salk Science & Music Series
30 New York Salkexcellerators
November
5

Women & Science Reception

10 Salk Science & Music Series
13

San Diego Salkexcellerators

DECEMBER
5 President’s Club Luncheon

Follow us on:

facebook.com/salkinstitute

twitter.com/salkinstitute

Symphony
at Salk
with special guest artist

Katharine McPhee
August 24, 2013

18th annual SYMPHONY at SALK , a concert under the stars