News Release

The Scripps Research Institute Begins Presidential Succession Process

Current President Richard A. Lerner to Leave Position in Three Years to Assume Chairmanship of Board of Trustees

LA JOLLA, February 13, 2006—The Scripps Research Institute Board of Trustees today adopted a succession plan to guide its selection of a new president and chief executive officer when current President Richard A. Lerner, M.D., leaves the position in three years to assume the chairmanship of the Institute's Board of Trustees.

"According to the plan, I will continue to lead the institution for the next five years," Lerner said. "During the third year, we will convene a committee with the aim of finding my ultimate successor who will assume the duties of President and CEO three years from now. At that time I will become chairman of Scripps Research for two years. After that, my successor will become chairman of Scripps Research and I will return to full-time research in my laboratory. To give everyone a say in this important process, the search committee will have representatives from the board, faculty and scientific board of governors."

"Richard Lerner is a visionary, a scientist of worldwide renown, and the energizing force behind the remarkable growth and accomplishments of Scripps Research," said Board Chair Alice D. Sullivan. "Selecting his successor is perhaps the most important task the Board of Trustees will undertake since Richard became president in 1987."

The plan was put in place at the Board of Trustees' annual corporate meeting in Indian Wells, California, at which time it considers governance and other organizational issues in its role as the board of directors of the Scripps Research nonprofit corporation.

"I believe the plan that was adopted at today's meeting of the Scripps Research board provides for an orderly and sensible transition," Lerner said."I believe that Scripps Research is the finest research institute in the world and I look forward to working with the board and faculty for the next five years to make even greater strides and ensure our preeminence amongst research organizations worldwide."

Richard A. Lerner at Scripps Research

In addition to leading the Institute, Dr. Richard A. Lerner, 67, an internationally recognized chemist, is Lita Annenberg Hazen Professor of Immunochemistry, Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Chair in Chemistry, and a member of The Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology at Scripps Research.

He came to the Institute's forerunner, the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation, in 1965 as a postdoctoral fellow, after graduating from Northwestern University and Stanford Medical School, and completing his internship at Palo Alto Stanford Hospital.

He became chairman of the Department of Molecular Biology of The Research Institute of Scripps Clinic, a further iteration of the Institute, in 1982 and assumed the directorship of the Research Institute in 1987. In 1991 when the Institute was incorporated as a separate nonprofit entity, the Scripps Research Institute, Lerner became its first president.

Lerner's groundbreaking research has provided a range of insights on protein and peptide structure, the identification of a sleep-inducing lipid, and the conversion of antibodies into enzymes. Recently, he discovered that human antibodies generate a product with the chemical signature of ozone—a highly reactive molecule never before considered part of biology—and has suggested this process plays a role in diseases such as atherosclerosis.

During his term as Scripps Research's top official, he has overseen the growth of the Institute's laboratory space in La Jolla from approximately 300,000 square feet in1987 to more than one million square feet today and an increase in staff from 700 to more than 3,000. In 2003, he spearheaded the Institute's decision to establish Scripps Florida in Palm Beach County.

He has received numerous awards and honors for his research accomplishments and discoveries, including the Wolf Prize in Chemistry, the California Scientist of the Year Award, the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, and elections to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Science. He has published his work repeatedly in virtually every top journal in his field and has lectured at leading academic and other research institutions around the world.

About the Scripps Research Institute and Scripps Florida

The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, and Palm Beach County, Florida, is one of the world's largest independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations. It stands at the forefront of basic biomedical science that seeks to comprehend the most fundamental processes of life. Scripps Research is internationally recognized for its research into immunology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, neurosciences, autoimmune, cardiovascular, and infectious diseases, and synthetic vaccine development.

Scripps Florida will be a 350,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art biomedical research institute in Palm Beach County. Scripps Florida focuses on basic biomedical science, drug discovery, and technology development. Scripps Florida is now operating with more than 160 researchers and technicians at a 41,000 square-foot facility on the campus of Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter. An additional 33,000 square-foot temporary facility is under construction.

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