Exploring the Atomic World

Chemistry is known as the “central science,” playing a fundamental role in enabling and integrating other scientific disciplines. Scripps Research is home to some of the world’s leading chemists, who advance our ability to design and produce molecules, develop life-changing therapies, and tackle global sustainability challenges.

Former Scripps Research president Richard Lerner was integral to establishing the institute as a world leader in chemistry and chemical biology. Serving as the institute’s leader from 1987 through 2012, Lerner believed chemistry and biology were inextricably linked, and studying these connections would unlock a new era in science and medicine.