The Salk Institute in La Jolla has unexpectedly decided to delay construction of its $250 million science and technology center by three years, impacting plans to expand research in fields as diverse as cancer and aging. There is a possibility of giving.
“We have significant but finite financial resources, and we are committed to maximizing our ability to make high-impact scientific discoveries now and for years to come,” Sauk State President Jerry Joyce said Friday. “We need to prioritize how we use those resources for our purposes.” he said in a statement to faculty and staff.
Joyce added that the delay will not prevent private biomedical research institutes from hiring new faculty and acquiring new technology to enhance their research.
The decision comes three years after Salk announced that Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs and his wife Joan would contribute up to $100 million to help build the project as part of a major capital campaign. It was given down in no time. The facility will be called the Jacobs Science and Technology Center.
Dr. Salk specializes in basic research, making discoveries that help other scientists develop important cancer drugs such as Gleevec and Avastin. In addition to helping find ways to offset climate change, the institute says it wants to be more directly involved in turning his discoveries into medicines.
The Sauk Tribe has generally done well in fundraising in recent years. Last spring, New York-based energy company Hess Corporation gave the institute $50 million to explore how plants can more effectively capture and store atmospheric carbon, a key to combating global warming. Donated.
But the local scientific community is debating whether Salk University will be able to raise the full $250 million it specifically needs for a new science and technology center. Expansion has been a thorny issue since the institute opened in the early 1960s.
Jacobs could not be reached for comment Sunday.
Significant support is being provided to increase the number of faculty members and modernize research facilities at the Institute.
Joyce said in a statement that the institute is on pace to raise $750 million by June 2026, when the current seven-year fundraising campaign ends.
