Salk Institute honors Whitehead’s Weinberg for research excellence

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – Whitehead Founding Member Robert Weinberg is one of two scientists to receive the prestigious Salk Institute Medal for Research Excellence, an honor that Salk has bestowed only twice before in its 55-year history.

Weinberg, an internationally renowned cancer biologist best known for his discoveries of the first human oncogene and the first tumor suppressor gene, received the medal alongside pioneering neuroscientist Solomon Snyder of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.

“Sol Snyder’s seminal contributions to the field of neuroscience continue to fuel research today, while Robert Weinberg’s work has changed the world’s understanding of cancer,” says Elizabeth Blackburn, president of the Salk Institute. “It is pioneering careers such as theirs that embody the spirit of Salk’s research excellence honor.”

Whitehead’s Weinberg, who is also the Daniel K. Ludwig Professor for Cancer Research at MIT and Director of the Ludwig Center at MIT, focuses much of his research on the mechanisms that drive cancer cell invasion and metastasis.

“I am delighted that Robert Weinberg was awarded the Salk Medal, not only because of his incredible scientific contributions, but also because he has roots with the Institute as a postdoctoral researcher in Renato Dulbecco’s lab in the early 1970s,” says Inder Verma, professor in the Laboratory of Genetics at Salk and a member of the medal selection committee.

The first Salk Institute Medals were awarded in 2006 and again in 2010.