2018 Scientist of the Year Dinner

ARCS 2018 SCIENTIST OF THE YEAR DINNER

Honoring FRED “RUSTY” GAGE, Ph.D.
Interim President
and
Adler Professor, Laboratory of Genetics, The Salk Institute

Thursday – October 4, 2018
6:00 p.m. Reception & ARCS Scholars’ Research Poster Session
7:15 p.m. Dinner
Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina
1380 Harbor Island Dr., San Diego, CA

Fred “Rusty” H. Gage, Ph.D., Interim President and Adler Professor in the Laboratory of Genetics, joined The Salk Institute in 1995. He received his Ph.D. in 1976 from The Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Gage's work concentrates on the adult central nervous system and unexpected plasticity and adaptability to environmental stimulation that remains throughout the life of all mammals. His lab showed that human beings are capable of growing new nerve cells throughout life, in a process called neurogenesis. Gage’s team explores how these cells can be prompted to become mature, functioning nerve cells in the adult brain and spinal cord. He also showed that environmental enrichment and physical exercise can enhance the growth of new brain cells. The team also continues to study the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms of neurogenesis to find possible avenues to repair damaged or aging brains.  In addition, Gage’s lab also models human neurological and psychiatric disease in vitro using human stem cells and studies the genomic mosaicism that exists in the brain as a result of mobile elements that are active during neurogenesis.  Gage’s research has also revealed that mobile sequences of DNA called “jumping genes” are active in neural stem cells contributing to genomic mosaicism. Specifically, he is interested in how this mosaicism (different sets of genes within a single organism) may lead to differences in brain function between individuals. Prior to joining Salk, Dr. Gage was a Professor of Neuroscience at the University of California, San Diego. He is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, and American Philosophical Society, a foreign member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.  Dr. Gage has served as President of the Society for Neuroscience in 2002, and President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research 2011-2012.  Dr. Gage was named Interim President of the Salk Institute in January 2018.