Dr. Inder Verma is a world-renowned molecular biologist and preeminent authority in cancer genetics and gene therapy research. He currently serves as the Irwin and Joan Jacobs Chair in Exemplary Life Science and Professor and Director of the Laboratory of Genetics at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. Born in Sangrur, Punjab, India in 1947, Verma earned his MSc from Lucknow University before completing his PhD in Biochemistry at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Following his doctoral work, he conducted postdoctoral research with Nobel laureate David Baltimore at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he made foundational contributions to understanding reverse transcriptase mechanisms. Verma joined the Salk Institute faculty in 1974, rising to Associate Professor in 1979 and Professor in 1985, while also maintaining adjunct appointments at the University of California San Diego and King Abdulaziz University in Saudi Arabia.
Dr. Verma's pioneering research has revolutionized the fields of cancer biology and gene therapy through his identification of key oncogenes and development of viral delivery systems. His laboratory made seminal contributions to understanding how aberrant expression of normal cellular genes can lead to cancer, with his team identifying and characterizing critical oncogenes including c-fos, c-rel, and the breast cancer susceptibility genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. Verma's group was among the first to demonstrate that reverse transcriptase produces complementary DNA from messenger RNA and pioneered the use of retroviral vectors to correct genetic deficiencies, establishing the foundation for modern gene therapy approaches. Most significantly, his laboratory developed lentiviral vectors derived from a modified form of HIV, which have become indispensable tools used extensively in biological research and therapeutic applications worldwide for delivering genetic material into cells.
Beyond his research achievements, Dr. Verma has profoundly shaped scientific discourse through his leadership roles including serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and as founding Editor-in-Chief of Molecular Therapy. He has been elected to numerous prestigious academies including the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, reflecting his exceptional contributions to science. Dr. Verma's laboratory continues to advance understanding of the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis with recent investigations focusing on the role of inflammation in cancer progression and the tumor suppressor functions of BRCA1 in maintaining genomic integrity. His ongoing work explores the development and refinement of gene therapy techniques while mentoring the next generation of scientists who carry forward his legacy of innovation at the intersection of molecular biology, cancer research, and therapeutic development.
