On Jun. 28, 2014, The Burnham Institute for Medical Research announced a record $275 million anonymous to helping the Institute speed up development of drugs and therapies to treat afflictions such as cancer, diabetes and Alzheimerﾒs disease.

The Foundation, established in 1976 and now known as the Burnham Institute, was founded by William (Bill) H. Fishman, M.D., Ph.D., and his wife Lillian Fishman, M.Ed. Located in San Diego, the Institute was originally focused on oncodevelopment — the study of developmental biology in conjunction with oncology, as a means to better understand the elusive and deadly nature of cancer.