Newswise — LA JOLLA, CA – April 3, 2017 –The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), one of the world's largest, private, non-profit research organizations, today announced the appointment of Ronald W. Burkle to its Board of Directors—adding another world-renowned business leader and philanthropist to its newly restructured board.

Burkle is Founder and Chairman of the Ronald W. Burkle Foundation, whose mission is to positively influence people around the world and their communities. He also founded The Yucaipa Companies, a premier investment firm that has established a record of fostering economic value through the growth, repositioning and responsible development of individual companies. He is widely recognized as one of America’s preeminent investors in the retail, distribution, technology, entertainment, sports and hospitality industries.

“Ron’s business acumen and philanthropic mindset will be critical to realizing the new self-sustaining ‘bench-to-bedside’ model we are building,” said Peter G. Schultz, Ph.D., President of TSRI and the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr). “I am thrilled to welcome yet another incredibly credentialed individual to the TSRI board who can help guide our efforts to take on new challenges in advancing human health through basic science and drug discovery.”

In addition to his role as co-chairman of the Burkle Center for International Relations at the University of California, Los Angeles, Burkle is trustee of the Carter Center, the National Urban League and AIDS Project Los Angeles. He also has been an active member of the Frank Lloyd Wright Conservancy. Burkle has served as Chairman of the Board and controlling shareholder of numerous companies, including Soho House, Golden State Foods, Dominick's, Fred Meyer, Ralphs and Food4Less.

About The Scripps Research Institute

The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) is one of the world's largest independent, not-for-profit organizations focusing on research in the biomedical sciences. TSRI is internationally recognized for its contributions to science and health, including its role in laying the foundation for new treatments for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, hemophilia, and other diseases. An institution that evolved from the Scripps Metabolic Clinic founded by philanthropist Ellen Browning Scripps in 1924, the institute now employs more than 2,500 people on its campuses in La Jolla, CA, and Jupiter, FL, where its renowned scientists—including two Nobel laureates and 20 members of the National Academies of Science, Engineering or Medicine—work toward their next discoveries. The institute's graduate program, which awards doctoral degrees in biology and chemistry, ranks among the top ten of its kind in the nation. In October 2016, TSRI announced a strategic affiliation with the California Institute for Biomedical Research (Calibr), representing a renewed commitment to the discovery and development of new medicines to address unmet medical needs. For more information, see http://www.scripps.edu/.