Insights Ana Cabrera Clearing the path to discovery

“Every lab is like its own small business,” says Cabrera, ”and every faculty member needs a business partner.” With an MBA and over 25 years of experience in academic and research administration, she’s a great partner to have.

For Salk scientists, the support begins long before they arrive on campus. Cabrera’s team is involved in every step of the hiring process, helping the search committee identify and recruit the most innovative leaders in each field. In the months leading up to a new faculty member’s arrival, Cabrera coordinates efforts across Facilities, Finance, Human Resources, Environmental Health and Safety, Information Technology, Grants Development, and Advancement teams to ensure the new lab is ready to launch.

“We want our faculty to hit the ground running,” she says. “That means thinking ahead on everything from purchase orders and space design to making sure the right computational infrastructure is in place.”

Cabrera continues to support and guide the faculty in the years that follow, always looking for ways to bring their latest ideas to life. In a world of rising costs and rapid technological advances, she’s particularly keen on helping scientists find funding opportunities and cost-effective solutions to keep their research at the cutting edge.

“It’s important to us to be smart and lean when it comes to funds,” she says. “That’s why we invest in advanced core facilities that all the labs can use, and always encourage resource sharing and recycling. When we can save a lab money, that’s money that will directly enable new experiments, tools, and discoveries.”

Over the years, Cabrera has found deep satisfaction in watching her colleagues grow and thrive. “There is nothing more rewarding than seeing an amazing new scientist accept their offer letter and then later getting together to celebrate their most recent publication or award,” she says.

Immunologist Deepshika Ramanan, PhD, was a new assistant professor when she started her lab at Salk in 2023. After just two years, she’s already mentoring trainees, publishing papers, earning grants, and winning prestigious awards.

“From day one, Ana and the CSO’s Office have helped me in numerous ways, from assisting with equipment transfers and space allocation to helping me establish my adjunct appointment at UC San Diego to simply guiding me to the point person for various things I needed at the Institute,” says Ramanan. “That kind of steady, responsive support from the moment I started until now has made such a difference and allowed me to focus on the research I’m here to do.”

At the heart of Cabrera’s work is her commitment to Salk’s mission. “We want our scientists to feel like they can do their most daring, inspired, impactful work,” she says. “Everything we do is to minimize their operational duties and free them to think big. When we do our job well, you don’t see us—you just see the discoveries.”