Ronald M. Evans is Professor and Director in the Gene Expression Laboratory and the March of Dimes Chair in Developmental and Molecular Biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. Dr. Evans is an authority on hormones, both their normal activities and their roles in disease. A major achievement in Evans' lab was the discovery of a large family of molecules named receptors that respond to various steroid hormones, vitamin A and thyroid hormones. These hormones help control sugar, salt, calcium and fat metabolism; thus, they impact our daily health as well as treatment of disease. The receptors that Dr. Evans’ lab discovered are primary targets in the treatment of breast cancer, prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer and leukemia, as well as osteoporosis and asthma. In addition, Dr. Evans' studies led to the discovery of a hormone that may aid in the treatment of obesity and diabetes. Dr. Evans is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. He was awarded the Albert Lasker Basic Medical Research Award in 2004 and the Wolf Prize in Medicine in 2012. Dr. Evans received his BS and PhD from UCLA, followed by postdoctoral training at The Rockefeller University with James E. Darnell.
