San Diego

The prestigious Salk Institute for Biological Studies is on the brink of change. Fresh leadership at the California research facility in La Jolla is set to direct it towards a major expansion.

The search for a president has already begun after neuroscientist Richard Murphy announced on 8 December that he will leave next July, after nearly seven years in the post.

And Irwin Jacobs, an electrical engineer who led his company, San Diego-based Qualcomm, to pre-eminence in mobile-phone technology, assumed the nine-year chairmanship of the Salk board last month. Billionaire Jacobs is a popular choice. He has a stellar international business reputation, a track record in philanthropy, and is the first board chair to come from the Salk's home town.

“These developments create the opportunity for the Salk to unlock its substantial potential,” says Kenneth Chien, a Harvard physician who has a Salk adjunct faculty position. “This is a very opportune moment to capitalize on a science-driven agenda.”

Although it has only 62 faculty members, the Salk has set a sterling record for answering some of the most basic questions in biology, and its strength and direction are closely watched.

The leadership changes come as the institute prepares to complete an expansion first envisaged in the 1960s, when polio researcher Jonas Salk founded the institute. Whereas three other non-profit research institutes in San Diego's cluster recently accepted lavish financial payouts to open labs in Florida, Salk officials spurned its suitors (see Nature 442, 729; 2006). “Three or four Florida groups asked us to consider moving,” says Murphy. “We were not interested. Our strength is remaining small and interactive.”

The Salk plan calls for a new building for labs; a research facility for photonics, mass spectroscopy and human stem-cell projects; a child-care centre; and ocean-view residences for visiting scientists. Salk officials hope to win the necessary government approvals by next June, while launching a funding drive for the project. Costs are estimated to exceed $100 million.

An architectural landmark, the Salk Institute is set to grow. Credit: P. APRAHAMIAN/CORBIS

The institute is considered a national architectural landmark — it was designed by Louis Kahn and crowns an ocean-front cliff. So the expansion is already drawing fire. A local design organization has criticized the plan, even though much of the new building will be underground, temporary structures and parking lots will disappear, and no final model has been decided.

Having Jacobs as board chairman should help considerably, though, especially given his services to the community — his many donations include $110 million to the University of California, San Diego, and $120 million to the San Diego Symphony.

“We plan to focus on raising money for the institute's scientific work,” says Jacobs. The number of faculty to be added with the expansion has not been decided, but a 10% increase has been suggested.

Murphy's tenure had been a fruitful one. During his term, 16 faculty members were hired, major research centres were created, about a third of the labs were renovated and the endowment rose. “It's been a great six years,” says Murphy. “I thought it best to go before the institute started the capital campaign.”

Looking to the future, faculty head Inder Verma says: “For the first time, we have a board chairman who is from San Diego; this is very positive. He is a community leader with academic credentials.” On the presidential search, Verma notes: “The faculty would prefer someone from outside, to bring in new blood.”