Science Can’t Wait: A Discovery Series with the Salk Institute

Join the Salk Institute and the Del Mar Foundation for Science Can’t Wait, a three-part webinar series exploring breakthroughs in brain health, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, agricultural solutions, and more. Each session offers exclusive access to Salk scientists whose work is shaping the future of human health and our planet.

For the first time, the Del Mar Foundation is partnering with the Salk Institute to offer a Challenge Match through June. When you give during the webinar series, your contribution will be matched 1:1, instantly doubling your support for groundbreaking research that directly affects our community and the world.

The Del Mar Foundation is partnering with the Salk Institute to produce a 3-part state of the art webinar series surrounding the message of “Science Can’t Wait”.  Dr. Emily Manoogian will present the first webcast on January 28, 2026 at 10 AM on long-term cognitive resilience. She will explore the roles that circadian rhythm, healthy sleep, and metabolic health contribute to a healthy brain.

The origin of the “Science Can’t Wait” program evolved over the last year as once stable National Institute of Health (NIH) budgets were dramatically cut with many grant funds suspended or placed on hold.  This created chaos and uncertainty with many basic science and healthcare labs halting or severely curtailing current investigations.  If prolonged, the funding cuts could result in loss of not only key personnel, but a brain drain of principal investigators out of San Diego (and even the US), resulting in delay or loss of important scientific and health achievements.  Expectations for the 2026 Federal budget are for possibly 40% reductions in these once stable NIH allocations.

The Del Mar Foundation has issued a challenge grant and will match online donations to the Salk Institute, up to $50,000, during the “Science Can’t Wait” webinar series.  These donations will be used to support the Salk Institute’s laboratory costs.  Equally important, the Salk Institute and the Del Mar Foundation want to raise public awareness regarding this issue.  The importance of the scientific community to our local economy and to our collective health cannot be overstated.

Dr. Emily Manoogian

Emily Manoogian, Ph.D., is a Senior Staff Scientist/PI at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. She studies the intricate interaction between our body’s biological rhythms and the timing of our daily habits, including when and how much we sleep, eat, and exercise. She also manages the development, deployment, and use of novel mHealth tools and wearable devices to monitor and intervene in lifestyle, both on a large scale open to the public and in focused clinical trials. Her research focuses on how lifestyle interventions, such as time-restricted eating (independently or in combination with drug therapy), can improve a variety of age-related diseases, including pre-diabetes, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, mental health, and cognitive decline.