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Message from the President

These are extraordinary times for the scientific enterprise and I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to lead The Scripps Research Institute at the dawn of a new millennium that holds such promise for the treatment of devastating disease. The completion of the human genome, the drive toward proteomics, and the advances in drug design and combinatorial chemistry make me optimistic that our work in basic research will yield significant benefits in the years ahead.

Scripps Research has taken a unique place in the international research community. The largest private non-profit biomedical research organization in this country, it has attained recognition as a center of excellence at the nexus of scientific endeavors in the structure of biological molecules, their cellular functions, and their chemical synthesis. In this arena, the institute is among a handful of the world’s leading centers. Additionally, scientists at Scripps Research conduct world-class work in the areas of immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, and the neurosciences, investigating the fundamental processes of life that have implications for the diagnosis and treatment of myriad human diseases.

The philosophy of Scripps Research emphasizes the creation of basic knowledge in the biosciences for its application in medicine, the pursuit of fundamental scientific advances through interdisciplinary programs and collaborations, and the education and training of researchers preparing to meet the scientific challenges of the future. The creative minds of our scientists are the institution’s most precious resource. Every effort is made to provide researchers with the most sophisticated laboratory space, state-of-the-art instrumentation, and outstanding technical and administrative support.

A milestone in the history of the institute was the establishment of The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology in 1996, made possible by an extraordinary and visionary contribution by L.S. and Aline Skaggs and their family, thereby enabling Scripps Research to build on its unique capabilities in ways that would have otherwise been impossible. The recruitment of internationally recognized scientists, including Nobel laureates K. Barry Sharpless and Kurt Wüthrich, as well as brilliant young researchers at the outset of their careers, has created a critical mass of expertise in such areas of investigation as synthetic, medicinal, and bioorganic chemistry; catalysis; molecular evolution; RNA chemistry; chemical physiology; combinatorial chemistry; protein chemistry; and the expansion of the genetic code.  Few institutions in the world are honored with friends such as the Skaggs, who understand the value of the often painstaking, deliberate, complex, and exciting work at the interface of chemistry and biology at the molecular level. The Skaggs have enabled us to assemble a team of dedicated scientists at various stages of their careers, with disparate yet synergistic interests, that is the envy of the international scientific community.

I am also extremely proud of the Institute’s graduate program, the Kellogg School of Science and Technology. While established barely more than a decade ago, it is ranked among the top graduate schools in the country, according to a study conducted by U.S. News & World Report. That a program in its infancy can compete successfully with the most established schools in the nation is testimony to the exceptional leadership of its founding dean, the late Norton B. Gilula, as well as its current dean, Jeffery Kelly. The program wears the Kellogg name with great pride–for many years, Janet R. (Jean) and W. Keith Kellogg II have been great benefactors to Scripps Research and some of the country’s most prominent philanthropists of higher learning.

The establishment of a major new Scripps science center in Florida will further increase the scope and depth of significant research in biomedical science. We fully expect that the synergy between our faculty and facilities on both coasts will lead to significant new developments to improve human health. As Scripps Research has served as a catalyst for the growth of the burgeoning biotechnology industry in San Diego, so do we expect the new Florida campus to stimulate economic development in the sciences in Florida.

It is my privilege to work with my colleagues, members of the Board of Trustees, our friends and donors, and employees of The Scripps Research Institute toward our common goals. I am inspired by the dedication, commitment, intensity, and drive of our staff who strive for excellence every day, and I am optimistic about our ability to make significant contributions to the body of scientific knowledge and to the betterment of humankind.

Richard A. Lerner, M.D.
President