Inder Mohan Verma (born 28 November 1947) is an Indian American molecular biologist, the former Cancer Society Professor of Molecular Biology in the Laboratory of Genetics at the

Salk Institute for Biological Studies The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is a scientific research institute located in the La Jolla community of San Diego, California, U.S. The independent, non-profit institute was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vac ...

and the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Insti ...

. He is recognized for seminal discoveries in the fields of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bl ...

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see ther ...

, and

gene therapy Gene therapy is a medical field which focuses on the genetic modification of cells to produce a therapeutic effect or the treatment of disease by repairing or reconstructing defective genetic material. The first attempt at modifying human D ...

. Verma was the editor-in-chief of the journal ''

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Sc ...

'' (''PNAS'') from 2011 to 2018, but stepped down after being named in a gender discrimination lawsuit against the Salk Institute. In April 2018 the Salk institute placed him on leave for "unspecified allegations"; Verma himself stated that the leave was connected to the same lawsuit, but it came shortly before publication of an exposé alleging decades-long sexual harassment and assault of multiple women by Verma. In June 2018 he resigned his position at the Salk Institute, before the board of trustees of the institute could take action regarding these allegations.

Early life and education

Inder M. Verma was born in 1947 in Sangrur,

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

and educated at Lucknow University. He received his Ph.D. from the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli univ ...

in Israel in 1971.

Career and research

After his PhD, Verma conducted his

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to pu ...

in the laboratory of Nobel laureate

David Baltimore David Baltimore (born March 7, 1938) is an American biologist, university administrator, and 1975 Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine. He is President Emeritus and Distinguished Professor of Biology at the California Institute of Tech ...

at MIT. In 1974, Verma joined the Salk Institute as an Assistant Professor. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 1979, and Professor in 1985. He also holds an Adjunct Professor appointment at the

. Among his professional activities, he is a member of the Board of Scientific Governors of The Scripps Research Institute. He is currently at the center of a lawsuit alleging systematic discrimination against women scientists at the Salk Institute. Verma is a recognized leaders in

, retrovirology, and

. His work on viruses and cancer led to the identification of several oncogenes, including c-fos, and their function in normal cells. His development of virus mediated gene transfer techniques, including a stripped down version of

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immu ...

, has become the foundation for gene therapy to cure several congenital as well as adult onset diseases including cancer. The viral vectors are routinely used in molecular biology laboratories.

Awards and honors

* 2009: American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy Outstanding Achievement Award * 2008: Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Sciences * 2008: AAISCR Lifetime Achievement Award * 2006: Member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communi ...

* 2005: Foreign Fellow,

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the NCT Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is t ...

(INSA) * 2000: Fellow,

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, ...

(revoked) * 1999: Member,

Institute of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), formerly called the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, En ...

of The

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

(USA) * 1998: Associate Member,

European Molecular Biology Organization The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 1,800 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

(EMBO) * 1997: Elected a

Member of the National Academy of Sciences Membership of the National Academy of Sciences is an award granted to scientists that the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of the United States judges to have made “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research”. Membership i ...

(USA) * 1997: Foreign Fellow,

The National Academy of Sciences, India The National Academy of Sciences, India, established in 1930, is the oldest science academy in India. It is located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Prof. Meghnad Saha was the founder president. Fellows *Suddhasatwa Basu *Sudha Bhattacharya * C ...

* 1997: Fellow,

American Society for Microbiology The American Society for Microbiology (ASM), originally the Society of American Bacteriologists, is a professional organization for scientists who study viruses, bacteria, fungi, algae, and protozoa as well as other aspects of microbiology. It w ...

* 1990: American Cancer Society Professor of Molecular Biology * 1988: NIH Outstanding Investigator Award * 1987: NIH MERIT Award

Personal life

He married Grietje van der Woude in 1973. They have a daughter Simone, who lives in La Jolla. They have twin granddaughters, Sophie and Marijke. In April 2018,

Science Science is a systematic endeavor that Scientific method, builds and organizes knowledge in the form of Testability, testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earli ...

published accounts by eight women who accuse Verma of sexual harassment from 1976 to 2016. On 20 April 2018 Salk’s board of trustees put Verma on administrative leave, 2 days after receiving a list of questions from Science concerning the allegations and the institute’s responses to previous complaints about Verma’s behavior. The

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsi ...

removed his

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

title after the allegations were confirmed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verma, Inder 1947 births 21st-century American biologists American medical researchers American people of Indian descent Cancer researchers Indian medical researchers Living people Massachusetts Institute of Technology faculty Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Foreign Fellows of the Indian National Science Academy People from Sangrur University of Lucknow alumni Weizmann Institute of Science alumni Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America editors Fellows of the AACR Academy Members of the National Academy of Medicine Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Members of the American Philosophical Society Salk Institute for Biological Studies people American physicians of Indian descent