Walter Eckhart

Walter Eckhart served as director of the Salk Institute Cancer Center and head of the Molecular and Cell Biology Laboratory for more than 30 years. He studied regulation of cell growth, including the effects of cancer-causing genes (oncogenes), growth factors, and communication between adjacent cells (gap junctional intercellular communication). Currently professor emeritus at the Salk Institute, he is a member of advisory committees for cancer centers, the National Institutes of Health, and voluntary health agencies.