Celebrating 50 Years
Biomedical research is undergoing a revolution—an era of accelerating, transformative discovery fueled by powerful new technologies that generate vast amounts of data and open avenues of inquiry previously unimaginable.
Advancing science in this environment requires a clear mission, a nimble and lean organization open to collaboration and innovation, and a faculty of experts equipped to translate discovery into human health.
Today, Sanford Burnham Prebys ranks in the top 2% of research institutions worldwide based on citations per paper. Each year, more than 200 postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and interns are mentored at the Institute, which is home to nearly 600 employees, including 53 principal investigators and 67 postdoctoral researchers. It also ranks among the top independent research institutes in National Institutes of Health funding, with annual revenue exceeding $105 million.
Sanford Burnham Prebys was founded in 1976 by William Harold Fishman, MD, (1914-2001) and his wife Lillian Waterman Fishman (1915-2013) after his retirement at professor, director and founder of the Cancer Research Center at Tufts University.
The new entity was originally called the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation.
With early support from the National Cancer Institute, including designation in 1981 as only the third basic science cancer center in the United States (now one of seven), the Foundation grew and prospered.
The Burnham Institute
In 1996, the Foundation was renamed The Burnham Institute following a $10 million gift from San Diego businessman Malin Burnham.
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute
In 2007, philanthropist T. Denny Sanford gave the Institute $20 million, followed by another $50 million gift in 2010 initiating a name change to Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute.
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute.
In 2015, the name became Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, honoring a $100 million gift from local philanthropist Conrad Prebys (1933-2016).
Malin Burnham is an honorary trustee and a pre-eminent leader at Sanford Burnham Prebys since 1982. A native San Diegan, successful businessman and celebrated sailor, Burnham is much honored for his wideranging philanthropic advocacy of local groups, universities and civic causes.
T. Denny Sanford is an honorary trustee, South Dakota businessman and renowned philanthropist (founder of First Premier Bank) who has adopted San Diego as his second home, and who has provided extraordinary support to the region’s educational and research institutions, most notably in basic research and children’s health.
