Salk Institute

THE SALK INSTITUTE for Biological Studies is located in La Jolla, California. It was established in 1960 by Jonas Salk, M.D., after he had developed a vaccine for polio. The institute has since become a leader in the field of stem cell research.

The goal of Salk in founding the Salk Institute was to establish a center for the study of the basic principles of living things. It was to be a “crucible for creativity,” in which questions about the basic principles of life could be pursued. Both the Salk faculty and others would be able to seek knowledge of nature that would enable them to benefit mankind by offering a better future. It was to be a place where basic research would lead to the discovery of the principles governing cellular activity and the path to therapies and cures.

The site for the Salk Institute was chosen by Salk after a year touring the United States. His concept for the institute was that it was to be a place of free—flowing laboratories and quiet retreats for reflection on the basic questions involving the nature of life. He had a vision of a place where hard work, dedication, and a unique intellectual environment could generate scientific discoveries that would have a major influence on human health.

To pursue his vision of a research institute, Salk recruited Louis Kahn as the architect to create the facility. Kahn was an artist as well as an architect, and together the two were able to persuade the San Diego City Council to donate a tract of land on the Torrey Pines Mesa, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The persuasion was mutual because San Diego Mayor Charles Dail had been a victim of polio, and the site was near where the University of California campus at San Diego was being developed.

Support for the Salk Institute came first from the March of Dimes, which was a key factor in the decision made by the city council to donate the land. Construction work began in 1962, followed by the opening of the laboratory in 1963.

Financial support for the Salk Institute has been steady and extremely valuable. In many cases, individual members of the institute have been awarded research grants from both public and private sources of funding. Among the public supporters has been the National Institutes of Health, and a strong private supporter has been the March of Dimes, which contributed not only to the original building but also to funding research on an annual basis.

In addition to Jonas Salk, the first researchers at the institute included Jacob Bronowski, Melvin [Page 486]Cohn, Renato Dulbecco, Edwin Lennox, and Leslie Orgel. This distinguished group of faculty members was soon joined by the first nonresident fellows—Leo Szilard, Francis Crick, Salvador Luria, Jacques Monod, and Warren Weaver. Today, the faculty has 56 members who are supported by a scientific staff of 850 people. In this group are visiting scientists, postdoctoral trainees, graduate students, and nearly 100 very bright undergraduates.

The Salk Institute does not grant degrees; however, it does train scientists, some of whom have gone on to become prominent research scientists, and five of whom have become Nobel Prize winners. Jonas Salk and his staff have published numerous articles, papers, and books dealing with diseases and human needs.

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