The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is an independent, non-profit, scientific research institute located in La Jolla, San Diego, California, United States. It was founded in 1960 by Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine; among the founding consultants were Jacob Bronowski and Francis Crick. Building did not start until spring of 1962. The institute consistently ranks among the top institutions in the US in terms of research output and quality in the life sciences.