On Jul. 7, 1976 , the La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation, now the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (SBP), was founded by William (Bill) H. Fishman, M.D., Ph.D., and his wife Lillian Fishman, M.Ed. Dr. Fishman has previously been a professor, director and founder of the Tufts Cancer Research Center in Boston.

Located in San Diego, the Institute was originally focused on onco-development — the study of developmental biology in conjunction with oncology, as a means to better understand the elusive and deadly nature of cancer. Today, the SBP focus includes neuroscience, immunology, metabolic disorders, stem cell research, drug discovery technologies and rare childhood diseases.