Fred Gage

Fred "Rusty" Gage (born October 8, 1950) is an American geneticist known for his discovery of stem cells in the adult human brain. Gage is a former president (2018–2023) of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he holds the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease and works in the Laboratory of Genetics.

Gage concentrates on the adult central nervous system and the unexpected plasticity and adaptability that remains throughout the life of all mammals.

Gage speaks fondly of his time at St. Stephen's, where, amidst his studies, he met his future wife. Because he was living in the rich historic city of Rome, Gage remembers focusing on art history and humanities throughout high school. However, his sister was a scientist, and she encouraged him to consider the discipline by sending articles and books to Gage over the years. In 1976, he had completed his Ph.D. and moved to Texas Christian University as associate director of the school's neuroscience program. In 1981, he left Texas Christian University to complete his postdoctoral research at Lund University in Sweden, under the direction of cell transplantation pioneer Anders Björklund. After completing his research, he remained at Lund University as an associate professor until 1985, when he moved back to the United States. Until then, it had been assumed that humans are born with all the brain cells they will ever have. Gage's laboratory showed that, contrary to years of dogma, human beings are capable of growing new nerve cells throughout life. Furthermore, his team is examining the underlying molecular mechanisms that are critical to the birth of new brain cells—work that may lead to new therapeutics for neurodegenerative conditions.

His laboratory studies the genomic mosaicism that exists in the brain as a result of "jumping genes", mobile elements, and DNA damage that occurs during development. Specifically, he is interested in how this mosaicism may lead to difference in brain function between individuals. His laboratory published work showing that human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) erase aging signatures and hiPSC-derived neurons remain rejuvenated, while direct conversion into induced neurons (iNs) preserve donor fibroblast age-dependent transcriptomic signatures.

In October 2004, he participated in the XIIth Mind and Life Institute conference in Dharamsala, India, on the theme of neuroplasticity and spoke with the 14th Dalai Lama about his research demonstrating the generation of new nerve cells in the adult brain.

Relationship with Phineas Gage Fred Gage has been said to be a descendant of (or more specifically, the great-grandson of) Phineas Gage, through whose brain an iron bar -inches in diameter was accidentally driven in 1848, transforming him into perhaps the most famous of all brain-injury survivors. However, this proposition faces considerable difficulties, chief of which being that Phineas Gage had no known children.

Awards and honors

IPSEN Prize in Neuronal Plasticity, 1990 Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievements in Health and Education, 1993 Christopher Reeve Research Medal, 1997 Max Planck Research Prize, 1999 Metlife Foundation Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer's Disease, 2001 President, Society for Neuroscience, 2001 MetLife Award for Medical Research, 2002 National Academy of Sciences Fellow, 2003 The Max Planck Society/Gertrud Reemstma Foundation Klaus-Joachim Zülch Prize, 2003 American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellow, 2005 Keio Medical Science Prize, 2008 European Molecular Biology Organization Associate Member, 2009 American Philosophical Society Member, 2010 International Society for Stem Cell Research President, 2011-2012 Cátedra Santiago Grisolia Award, 2011 JCN-Wiley W. Maxwell Cowan Award in Developmental Neuroscience, 2017 ARCS Foundation Scientist of the Year, 2018 Salk Institute for Biological Studies President, 2018-2023 International Society for Stem Cell Research Achievement Award, 2020