Scripps Research, previously known as The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), is a nonprofit American

medical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as experimental medicine, encompasses a wide array of research, extending from " basic research" (also called ''bench science'' or ''bench research''), – involving fundamental scienti ...

facility that focuses on research and education in the biomedical sciences. Headquartered in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

, the institute has over 170 laboratories employing 2,100 scientists,About The Scripps Research Institute
/ref> technicians, graduate students, and administrative and other staff, making it the largest private, non-profit biomedical research organization in the United States and among the largest in the world. The institute holds over 1,100 patents, has produced 11 FDA-approved therapeutics, and has generated over 50 spin-off companies. According to the 2017

Nature Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are ...

Innovation Index, Scripps Research is the #1 most influential research institution in the world. The Scripps Research graduate program is ranked 9th nationally in the biological sciences, 6th for

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J ...

, and 6th for

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. In 2022, their Jupiter, FL campus became a part of the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. Jupiter-based graduate students remain part of the Scripps Research graduate program.

History

Scripps Research began with the Scripps Metabolic Clinic, founded near the current site in the La Jolla area of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

in 1924 by

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

Ellen Browning Scripps, who was inspired by the discovery of insulin. In 1946, the metabolic clinic separated from Scripps Memorial Hospital. In 1956, Scripps Research was renamed Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation to reflect its broader focus and management's renewed commitment to biomedical research. Harvard biochemist A. Baird Hastings joined the institute in 1959, followed by immunologist

Frank J. Dixon Frank James Dixon (March 9, 1920 – February 8, 2008) was an biomedical researcher, best known for his research into diseases of the immune system that can damage other organs of the body.Alison McCook"Lasker winner Frank Dixon dies" ''The Scient ...

and colleagues William Weigle, Joseph Feldman, Charles Cochrane, and Jacinto Vazquez in 1961, biochemist Frank Huennekens and microbiologist John Spizizen in 1962. Dixon was appointed director of research operations in 1974, and in 1977 these operations assumed the name of The Research Institute of Scripps Clinic. Upon Dixon's retirement in 1986,

Richard Lerner Richard Alan Lerner (August 26, 1938 – December 2, 2021) was an American research chemist. Best known for his work on catalytic antibodies, Lerner served as President of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) until January 1, 2012, and was a ...

, who had been chair of the Scripps Department of Molecular Biology, was appointed the research institute's new director. In 1989, the institute launched a

graduate program Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor's) degree. The organization and struc ...

. In 1991, as the result of a merger of hospitals, the research branch became part of a larger organization, the Scripps Institutions of Medicine and Science. In 1993, the research division separated from the clinical side, becoming an independent nonprofit organization under the name of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI). An additional campus in Florida was instituted in 2004.

Michael Marletta Michael A. Marletta is an American biochemist. He graduated from the State University of New York at Fredonia with an A.B. degree in biology and chemistry, and from the University of California, San Francisco with a Ph.D. degree in pharmaceutica ...

became president and CEO in 2012, assuming the position from Lerner. Marletta announced his resignation on July 21, 2014, and James C. Paulson was subsequently appointed acting president and CEO. In September 2015, Peter G. Schultz was appointed CEO, and

Steve A. Kay Steve A. Kay is a British-born chronobiologist who mainly works in the United States. Dr. Kay has pioneered methods to monitor daily gene expression in real time and characterized circadian gene expression in plants, flies and mammals. In 2014 ...

, president. Kay announced he was returning to the

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8.1 ...

in August 2016. In October 2016, TSRI announced a strategic affiliation with the non-profit California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr). The two organizations had already collaborated on several research programs in recent years, including the development of an antibody engineering platform aimed at improving treatments for chronic diseases such as diabetes and COPD, and immune therapies for the treatment of cancer. Calibr now represents the drug discovery and development division of Scripps Research. In February 2017, 5AM Ventures' John Diekman was named chairman of the board. In July 2018, TSRI was officially rebranded to "Scripps Research". The

Scripps Institution of Oceanography The Scripps Institution of Oceanography (sometimes referred to as SIO, Scripps Oceanography, or Scripps) in San Diego, California, US founded in 1903, is one of the oldest and largest centers for ocean and Earth science research, public servi ...

is often incorrectly associated with Scripps Research; it is in fact a nearby research facility that is part of

UCSD The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

. Scripps Research is a private nonprofit institute not directly associated with UCSD. Confusingly, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography was once called the Scripps Institution for Biological Research. In 2022, Scripps Florida separated from Scripps Research and became a part of the

Features

Scripps Research's California campus is located on of land between the Torrey Pines State Reserve and the

University of California, San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is ...

in La Jolla.

Departments and centers

Scripps Research emphasizes interdisciplinary studies. Scripps Research scientists possess deep expertise in a range of scientific fields and are organized into five interrelated departments: Chemistry, Immunology and Microbiology, Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, Molecular Medicine, and Neuroscience. The institute also incorporates the: * Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Immunology & Immunogen Discovery * Center for Metabolomics * Center for Viral Systems Biology * Dorris Neuroscience Center * IAVI's Neutralizing Antibody Center at Scripps Research * The Pearson Center for

Alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

and Addiction Research * Scripps Research Alcohol Research Center * The Scripps Research Translational Institute * Scripps Research Digital Trials Center * Skaggs Institute for

Chemical Biology Chemical biology is a scientific discipline spanning the fields of chemistry and biology. The discipline involves the application of chemical techniques, analysis, and often small molecules produced through synthetic chemistry, to the study and ...

* Skaggs Graduate School for Chemical and Biological Sciences * Worm Institute for Research and Medicine * West African Research Network for Infectious Diseases (WARN-ID) * California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr)

Notable people

Among the 173 members of faculty are

Nobel Nobel often refers to: *Nobel Prize, awarded annually since 1901, from the bequest of Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel Nobel may also refer to: Companies *AkzoNobel, the result of the merger between Akzo and Nobel Industries in 1994 *Branobel, or ...

laureates

Ardem Patapoutian Ardem Patapoutian (born 1967) is an Armenian-American molecular biologist, neuroscientist, and Nobel Prize laureate. He is known for his work in characterizing the PIEZO1, PIEZO2, and TRPM8 receptors that detect pressure, menthol, and temperature ...

K. Barry Sharpless Karl Barry Sharpless (born April 28, 1941) is an American chemist and a two-time Nobel laureate in Chemistry known for his work on stereoselective reactions and click chemistry. Sharpless was awarded half of the 2001 Nobel Prize in Chemistry ...

, and Kurt Wüthrich, as well as many other notable scientists, including

Phil S. Baran Phil S. Baran (born August 10, 1977) is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute and Member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology.

, Donna Blackmond,

Dale L. Boger Dale Lester Boger is an American medicinal and organic chemist and former chair of the Department of Chemistry at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, CA. Dale Boger was born on August 22, 1953, in Hutchinson, Kansas. He studied chemistr ...

, Benjamin Cravatt III,

William R. Roush William R. Roush is an American organic chemist. He was born on February 20, 1952 in Chula Vista, California. Roush studied chemistry at the University of California Los Angeles (B.S. 1974) and Harvard University (Ph.D. 1977 under Robert Burns Wo ...

, Paul Schimmel, Peter G. Schultz,

Gary Siuzdak Gary Siuzdak is an American chemist best known for his work in the field of metabolomics, activity metabolomics (a termed coined in 2019), and mass spectrometry. His lab discovered indole-3-propionic acid as a gut bacteria derived metabolite in 2 ...

, Eric Topol, Charles Weissmann, Ian Wilson, Peter Wright, Chi-Huey Wong and

John R. Yates John R. Yates III is an American chemist and Ernest W. Hahn Professor in the Departments of Molecular Medicine and Neurobiology at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. His work is focused on developing tools and in proteomics ...

. In addition to the Nobel laureates, the Scripps Research faculty includes numerous members of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nat ...

, National Academy of Medicine,

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, a ...

, National Academy of Engineering,

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

and

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

, as well as winners of the Wolf Prize in Chemistry and

MacArthur Fellows Program The MacArthur Fellows Program, also known as the MacArthur Fellowship and commonly but unofficially known as the "Genius Grant", is a prize awarded annually by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation typically to between 20 and 30 indi ...

("genius grant"). The board of directors includes John D. Diekman (founder of 5AM Ventures), William R. Hearst III (chairman of the board, Hearst Corporation), Ge Li (founder of WuXi AppTec), and Joel S. Marcus (founder,

Alexandria Real Estate Equities Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. is a real estate investment trust based in Pasadena, California that invests in office buildings and laboratories leased to tenants in the life science and technology industries. The company also has a ventur ...

, Inc.).

Research rankings

According to the 2017

Innovation Index, Scripps Research is the #1 most influential research institution in the world (LENS score of 18.1), followed by The Rockefeller University (LENS score of 15.4) and the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of th ...

(MIT) (LENS score of 9.4). Scripps Research was noted as a standout in the Science Watch survey of "high-impact" papers in chemistry (1997–2008), ranked number one worldwide by citations per paper. Another measure of productivity, the

Hirsch index The ''h''-index is an author-level metric that measures both the productivity and citation impact of the publications, initially used for an individual scientist or scholar. The ''h''-index correlates with obvious success indicators such as wi ...

(which has been published by Chemistry World), placed six Scripps Research scientists – Wüthrich, Sharpless, Lerner, Yates, Schultz, and Chi-Huey Wong – in the top 100 of 2,000 chemists rated. Science Watch placed Sharpless within the Top 10 list of its "Top 100 Chemists 2000–2010" based on citations impact; other faculty in the list were the late Carlos F. Barbas and John R. Yates. In addition, a Thomson-Reuters's list of researchers ranked in the top one percent by citations in their field (2002 to 2012) included TSRI researchers

Phil S. Baran Phil S. Baran (born August 10, 1977) is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the Scripps Research Institute and Member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology.

(chemistry); the late Carlos F. Barbas (chemistry); Dennis Burton (microbiology); Benjamin Cravatt III (biology and biochemistry); Pascal Poignard (microbiology);

(chemistry); Eric Topol (genomic and digital medicine); Ian Wilson (microbiology); Richard Wyatt (microbiology); and Jin-Quan Yu (chemistry).

Medical contributions

Medical therapies based on Scripps Research findings include: * Adalimumab (Humira) for

rheumatoid arthritis Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are inv ...

and other inflammatory conditions * Belimumab (Benlysta) for

lupus Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Commo ...

* Cladribine (Leustatin) for hairy cell leukemia * Purification of Factor VIII for

hemophilia Haemophilia, or hemophilia (), is a mostly inherited genetic disorder that impairs the body's ability to make blood clots, a process needed to stop bleeding. This results in people bleeding for a longer time after an injury, easy bruising ...

* Tafamidis (Vyndaqel) for transthyretin

amyloidosis Amyloidosis is a group of diseases in which abnormal proteins, known as amyloid fibrils, build up in tissue. There are several non-specific and vague signs and symptoms associated with amyloidosis. These include fatigue, peripheral edema, weig ...

(ATTR) * Lucinactant (Surfaxin) for

infant respiratory distress syndrome Infantile respiratory distress syndrome (IRDS), also called respiratory distress syndrome of newborn, or increasingly surfactant deficiency disorder (SDD), and previously called hyaline membrane disease (HMD), is a syndrome in premature infants ...

Ramucirumab Ramucirumab (LY3009806, IMC-1121B, trade name Cyramza) is a fully human monoclonal antibody (IgG1) developed for the treatment of solid tumors. This drug was developed by ImClone Systems Inc. It was isolated from a native phage display library ...

(Cyramza) for gastric and non-small cell lung cancer * Dinutuximab (Unituxin) for the childhood cancer neuroblastoma * Ozanimod (Zeposia) for multiple sclerosis *COVID-19 mRNA vaccines for protection against the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 * Pegvaliese (Palynziq) for phenylketonuria *

Sacituzumab govitecan Sacituzumab govitecan, sold under the brand name Trodelvy, is a Trop-2-directed antibody and topoisomerase inhibitor drug conjugate used for the treatment of metastatic triple-negative breast cancer and metastatic urothelial cancer. The most c ...

(Trodelvy) for urinary tract cancers

Education

Scripps Research's Graduate Program

The graduate program at Scripps Research started in 1989 as the Macromolecular and Cellular Structure and Chemistry (MCSC) Program. A program in Chemistry followed three years after the establishment of the MCSC Program. In 2003, the institute redefined the curriculum to allow and encourage students to build course loads in an interdisciplinary manner. In 2005, Scripps Research's graduate program expanded to encompass the Jupiter, Florida campus. Today, approximately 300 graduate students are enrolled in the program, which offers doctoral degrees in the chemical and biological sciences. In addition to its Ph.D. programs, Scripps Research offers a master's degree in the discipline of Clinical and Translational Investigation (MCTI) for physician-scientists. The institute also administers the Skaggs-Oxford Scholarship program, which enables students to pursue a joint Ph.D./D.Phil. with the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. The most recent graduate school rankings by ''U.S. News & World Report'' places Scripps Research's program as 6th in chemistry (2nd in

, 5th in

) and 10th in biological sciences. In 2018, the program was renamed the Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Sciences following a gift from the Skaggs family.

Medical schools

Florida Atlantic University launched a new joint MD/PhD program association with Scripps Florida. The first students entered the new program in fall 2011. Previously, Scripps Research and the Scripps Health hospital network explored the idea of starting a medical school in California, but this project did not come to fruition.

Outreach programs

The California and Florida campuses both offer educational outreach programs for high school students and undergraduates interested in learning more about science.

Scripps Florida

The Florida campus of Scripps Research operates a state-of-the-art biomedical research facility focusing on neuroscience, cancer biology, medicinal chemistry,

drug discovery In the fields of medicine, biotechnology and pharmacology, drug discovery is the process by which new candidate medications are discovered. Historically, drugs were discovered by identifying the active ingredient from traditional remedies or b ...

, biotechnology, and alternative energy development. More than 500 faculty, staff and students occupy Scripps Research's Florida campus. The grand opening of the new facility took place on February 26, 2009, five years after Scripps Florida started operating, with a public ceremony that drew many dignitaries including then Florida Gov.

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

. In 2022, Scripps Florida became a part of University of Florida Health. In October 2022, it received a $100 million dollar donation from UF alumnus

Herbert Wertheim Herbert A. Wertheim (born May 23, 1939) is an American optometrist, inventor, billionaire businessman, and philanthropist. He is the founder and president of Brain Power Incorporated (BPI). He has served as chairman of the Dr. Herbert and Nico ...

. It was renamed ''Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation & Technology'' after the donation.

Funding

Grants and contracts provide funding for a significant portion of the institute's research. This revenue is derived primarily from the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the lat ...

and other federal agencies. In addition, grantors include, among others, the

American Cancer Society The American Cancer Society (ACS) is a nationwide voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer. Established in 1913, the society is organized into six geographical regions of both medical and lay volunteers operating in more than ...

, the

American Heart Association The American Heart Association (AHA) is a nonprofit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deat ...

, the

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States established to provide the means to cure cystic fibrosis (CF) and ensure that those living with CF live long and productive lives. The Foundation p ...

, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and the Juvenile Diabetes Association. Gifts from individuals and private foundations provide an important source of funding for Scripps Research. Private foundations that have provided support include the ALSAM Foundation, Lucille P. Markey Charitable Trust,

W.M. Keck Foundation The W. M. Keck Foundation is an American charitable foundation supporting scientific, engineering, and medical research in the United States. It was founded in 1954 by William Myron Keck, founder and president of Superior Oil Company (now par ...

, Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation,

Pew Charitable Trusts The Pew Charitable Trusts is an independent non-profit, non-governmental organization (NGO), founded in 1948. With over 6 billion in assets, its stated mission is to serve the public interest by "improving public policy, informing the public, a ...

, the

Ellison Medical Foundation The Ellison Medical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) Private Nonoperating Foundation, was founded in 1997 and is located in Bethesda, Maryland. The foundation supported research in the following discipline areas: biomedical research on aging, age-relat ...

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), a merging of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation, is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was ...

, and Harold L. Dorris Foundation. The establishment of the Scripps Florida campus was made possible by a one-time $310 million appropriation of federal economic development funds and by the Florida State Legislature and by an economic package provided by Palm Beach County.

References

External links

* *
The Scripps Research Institute's Graduate Program

Scripps Research Timeline

MSS 72
Special Collections & Archives
UC San Diego Library. {{authority control Biomedical research foundations Independent research institutes Universities and colleges in San Diego Schools accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges 1991 establishments in California Florida Atlantic University La Jolla, San Diego Scripps family Non-profit organizations based in San Diego Neuroscience research centers in the United States Research institutes in California