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Newswise — David D. O’Keefe, PhD, has been named vice president of research development at Sanford Burnham Prebys. His duties will include working with scientists to maximize research funding and increase research capacity at the Institute by nurturing a culture of grant writing and collaboration.

He officially joined Sanford Burnham Prebys December 16, 2024.

“I’m extremely excited to join the Sanford Burnham Prebys team and work with our visionary scientists to help launch and support bold new research programs,” said O’Keefe. “Sanford Burnham Prebys has a long history of translating scientific innovation into improved patient outcomes, and I look forward to helping build upon this discovery pipeline.”

O’Keefe will oversee a team responsible for advancing the Institute’s mission by identifying research trends, developing diverse and sustainable funding strategies, and helping faculty craft compelling grant proposals. His initial focus will be to support nearly one dozen new assistant professors recruited to Sanford Burnham Prebys over the past 18 months, thanks to a  from philanthropist T. Denny Sanford.

“Part of Dave’s portfolio will be to help ensure these new, amazing scientists, all still in the early stages of their careers, have strong strategies for obtaining funding from federal, state, private and philanthropic sponsors,” said  who was appointed the institute’s first chief research development officer in August.

In addition, O’Keefe will spearhead development of large, complex projects and manage proposals for scientific efforts that span disciplines, including the institute’s four disease-focused centers and two enabling technology centers.

He will also provide guidance and hands-on mentorship to graduate students and postdoctoral scholars at Sanford Burnham Prebys as they begin to secure their own training grants and funding support.

O’Keefe comes to Sanford Burnham Prebys from the Salk Institute where he served most recently as senior director of research development, helping to devise funding strategies to support both individual investigators and Salk’s scientific priorities.

Prior to his tenure at Salk (2014-2024), O’Keefe was a freelance science writer and a postdoctoral fellow and staff scientist at the Fred Hutch Cancer Center in Seattle, where he conducted independent research characterizing the genes and signaling pathways that control tissue morphogenesis in fruit flies, a model organism in science. Morphogenesis is the biological process by which a cell, tissue, or organism adopts a particular shape during development.

O’Keefe received his doctorate in neurosciences from the University of California San Diego and Bachelor of Sciences degree in biological sciences from Stanford University.