Which institute did Francis Crick join in California in 1977?

Francis Crick joined the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in California in 1977. The institute is located in La Jolla, near San Diego, and became the setting for the next major phase of Crick’s scientific career.

Crick had spent decades in Cambridge, where he and James Watson helped determine DNA’s double-helix structure in 1953. After reaching the later stages of his work at the Medical Research Council’s Laboratory of Molecular Biology, he moved toward neuroscience. Accounts describe a sabbatical at Salk beginning in 1976 and his permanent move there as occurring in 1976 or 1977, depending on whether the temporary appointment or the longer-term relocation is being dated.

At Salk, Crick studied the brain, visual perception, and consciousness rather than concentrating primarily on DNA. He worked with neuroscientists including Christof Koch and remained intellectually active there until his death in 2004.

A common mix-up is confusing Salk with the nearby University of California, San Diego, where Crick also held an adjunct professorship. Salk was the institute that employed him for his California research career.