The Salk Institute announced Monday it received a record-breaking $89 million from 1,204 donors in its latest fiscal year for research into cancer, plant science, neuroscience and metabolism.
“The financial support we received this past year from donors and public agency partners has been impressive and critical for our mission,” said Salk President Rusty Gage. “Their investment in Salk research will assist the overall effort to advance important discoveries on some of the most challenging scientific issues of our time.”
The amount is the most raised from private donors in the past decade and accounted for 49 percent of Salk’s revenue in the 12 months ending in June.
In addition, government partners such as the National Institutes of Health provided 41 percent of the institute’s revenue through 39 new federal grants totaling more than $75 million.
Major private contributions included $35 million to fund Salk’s initiative led by Professor Joanne Chory to fight climate change by optimizing plants’ natural ability to capture carbon and a $19.2 million grant to investigate mechanisms underlying Alzheimer’s disease and aging-related cognitive decline.
The record financial support came during a year in which Salk researchers developed a new gene therapy to decelerate aging, discovered a cellular process that could help stop cancer before it begins, and uncovered why screen time can disrupt sleep.
The institute in La Jolla is an independent, nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.
