The future of medical science is integrally connected to increasing understanding of the molecular basis of disease. As this knowledge base increases, so does the ability to engineer solutions for cure, treatment, and prevention. The establishment of the Jacobs Institute, with the innovative research it undertakes, creates the potential to apply to medical problems the molecular techniques of modern chemical engineering, with the goal of creating therapeutic techniques and devices which can be produced in a practical time frame.

Researchers at the Jacobs Institute have developed close working relationships with top medical doctors around the world. This intersection of molecular engineering with the medical community provides a seamless infrastructure for interactive research and for efficiently delivering clinical technologies to the general public and the commercial sector.

The focus on molecular engineering, biotechnology, and the design of new biomaterials for medical applications will have applications in cardiovascular disease, nerve regeneration, cellular interactions, and engineered organs. Advances are expected to lead to innovative treatments and new approaches to the prevention of medical conditions including heart disease, spinal cord injuries, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, lung disease, and diseases of the nervous system, liver, and kidney.

Rustem F. Ismagilov, the Ethel Wilson Bowles and Robert Bowles Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Caltech, is the director of the Jacobs Institute.

The initial $10 million gift to support the Jacobs Institute was donated by the late Joseph J. Jacobs. Dr. Jacobs was the founder and chairman of the board of Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., one of the world's largest international engineering and construction firms, headquartered in Pasadena.