Sanford Burnham Prebys gets new CEO from UC San Diego

Sanford Burnham Prebys, one of a cluster of biomedical research institutes on San Diego’s Torrey Pines Mesa, has named Dr. David Brenner as its new president and chief executive officer.

Brenner, 69, takes the helm of the nearly 500-person institute after 15 years as vice chancellor of health sciences at UC San Diego. He officially starts Sept 14.

“I am a big fan of Sanford Burnham Prebys,” said Brenner in an interview. “I know all three of the namesakes. I think it has an amazing history and unique mission in biomedical research.”

With a $109 million budget and about 40 principal investigators, Sanford Burnham Prebys is known for its research work in cancer, neuroscience, immunology and children’s diseases. It also has a renowned high-throughput screening lab that helps enable advanced drug discovery.

“People are free to focus on whatever is most exciting to them,” said Brenner, who was a fellow at the institute in 1985. “They do not have a lot of administrative burdens. It is really all science, all the time and is incredibly collaborative and congenial. And it has room to grow. I love to recruit scientists and bring them to San Diego.”

With roots dating back four decades, Sanford Burnham Prebys is among the dozen or so scientific institutes that form the foundation for the region’s biotech economy. They include the Salk Institute, Scripps Research, La Jolla Institute for Immunology and UC San Diego.

These institutes and others often collaborate, said Brenner, which will continue on his watch. A gastroenterologist, Brenner intends to continue his own research on fibrotic liver disease and liver cancer.

At UC San Diego, Brenner oversaw the nearly $2 billion expansion of health sciences that included the opening of the Jacobs Medical Center and the Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute. He also led the development of the Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science.

Brenner takes over for Dr. Kristiina Vuori, who stepped down as president after serving in the role for the past 12 years. Vuori will continue as professor at the Sanford Burnham Prebys. Brenner is assuming the CEO role from C. Randal Mills, who left earlier this year to work in commercial science.