Fred ‘Rusty’ Gage, PhD         

Fred is a geneticist and neuroscientist whose pioneering research transformed understanding of the brain’s plasticity and regenerative potential. He is the former President (2018–2023) of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he now serves as Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease and holds the Vi and John Adler Chair in the Laboratory of Genetics. He is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.

Fred’s groundbreaking work overturned longstanding dogma by demonstrating that neurogenesis occurs in the adult human brain and that environmental enrichment and physical exercise can enhance this process. His lab showed that neural stem cells in the adult hippocampus give rise to physiologically active neurons, providing new insight into memory and brain repair. He also discovered that mobile DNA elements are active during neurogenesis, creating genomic mosaicism that may underlie the brain’s functional diversity.

His current research uses human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and induced neurons (iNs) to model neurological and psychiatric diseases such as Alzheimer’s, depression, and autism, uncovering mechanisms of disease progression and potential therapeutic targets. Under his leadership, a Salk Institute team secured a $19.2 million American Heart Association–Allen Initiative award to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms driving cognitive decline and neurodegenerative disease.

Fred earned his B.S. from the University of Florida and his Ph.D. in neuroscience from Johns Hopkins University, followed by postdoctoral research at Lund University in Sweden. He has authored hundreds of scientific publications, holds international recognition for his work on neural plasticity, and continues to advance efforts to translate discoveries in neurogenesis and stem cell biology into therapies for age-related neurodegenerative disease.