Kurt Marek, PhD, has been named the new chief research development officer at Sanford Burnham Prebys. His duties will include supporting and strengthening the scientific competitiveness of the institute and advancing its mission by advising on funding portfolios, providing strategic direction for research administration and innovation initiatives and overseeing grant proposal development for principal investigators, faculty and others.
He officially joined Sanford Burnham Prebys on August 19, 2024.
“Sanford Burnham Prebys has a legacy of phenomenal science and a visionary strategy for taking it into the future,” said Marek. “I’m excited about working with the new junior faculty to build sustainable funding strategies and secure support that can help launch their independent research programs while helping established faculty develop multi-principal investigator grants that empower team science.
“Sanford Burnham Prebys also has a unique resource in the Conrad Prebys Center for Chemical Genomics, which can serve as an engine for moving basic discoveries out of the lab and into the market and, ultimately, the clinic to benefit patients. I’m looking forward to working with my new colleagues, helping them and the institute accelerate the translational pipeline.”
Marek comes to Sanford Burnham Prebys from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, where he served most recently as executive director of grants development, overseeing grants and contracts, research development and research compliance at the La Jolla-based nonprofit basic research institution.
Marek joined Salk in 2018 after nearly seven years at the National Institutes of Health (2010-2018), first as program director and Small Business Innovation Research coordinator for the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and then as deputy director in the Office of Translational Alliances and Coordination at NHLBI.
He was also an AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow at the NHLBI (2010-2011).
Marek earned undergraduate degrees in biology and humanities from the University of California San Diego and a doctorate in neuroscience from UC San Francisco, where he was a Howard Hughes predoctoral fellow.
He later studied spinal cord development as a Damon Runyon Cancer Research Fellow at UC San Diego. Working in the lab of Nicholas Spitzer, PhD, Marek used genomics to identify new roles for electrical activity in the nervous system and to characterize the underlying molecular mechanisms.
“Kurt brings enormous experience and expertise across all aspects of research administration and operations,” said David A. Brenner, MD, president and CEO of Sanford Burnham Prebys.
“He has worked in laboratories as a scientist, the recipient of major government and philanthropic awards, and as the sponsor of large federal research programs. He understands the complexities and challenges of both conducting science and of developing and nurturing the resources necessary to sustain and grow it.
“His deep knowledge about how science works, how to manage and lead complex research programs and a demonstrated record of success will be invaluable at Sanford Burnham Prebys and its ambitious mission to translate science into health.”