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A leading world center for biological research and a unique marriage of science and architecture, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies occupies a 26-acre site overlooking the Pacific.Founded in 1960 by Dr. Jonas Salk$ (1914-95), who pioneered the development of vaccines against influenza and polio, the Salk Institute today employs some 850 scientists conducting research dedicated to the improvement of human health and the quantity and quality of the world's food supply. The center's two main fields of concentration are neuroscience and molecular-cellular biology and genetics.The building, designed by leading modernist architect Louis Kahn, is widely recognized as an outstanding achievement in 20C architecture. The 411,580sq-ft complex consists of two identical six-story buildings of reinforced concrete, teak and steel. In both structures, each of three working levels houses vast, glass-walled laboratories, administrative offices and conference rooms. Facing each other across a travertine courtyard through which flows a narrow channel of water, the buildings frame a view of the sea; the striking La Jolla coastline is visible to the south.