Adrienne Crown serves as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary of Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, where she provides strategic legal counsel and executive leadership across the institute’s research, business, governance and operational activities.
She leads the institute’s legal and compliance functions, oversees Human Resources and works closely with the Board of Directors, fellow members of executive leadership and faculty on matters involving nonprofit governance, employment law, regulatory compliance, intellectual property, research administration, contracts, risk management and institutional policy.
Since joining Sanford Burnham Prebys in 2010, Crown has held leadership positions of increasing responsibility, including Director of Compliance and Operations and Deputy General Counsel and Compliance before being appointed Chief Legal Officer. Throughout her tenure, she has played a key role in strengthening the institute’s governance and compliance programs, supporting strategic initiatives and advising on complex legal, regulatory and institutional matters.
Prior to entering the legal profession, Crown served as Managing Editor of Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry and Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, where she worked closely with leading researchers and scientific editors. That experience provided an early foundation in the scientific enterprise and continues to inform her work supporting biomedical research and innovation.
Crown earned a Bachelor of Arts in American History from the University of California San Diego, and a Juris Doctor, cum laude, from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, where she focused on regulatory law.