Continuation of CARTA Funding by the Mathers Foundation

CARTA (the UCSD/Salk Center for Academic Research and Training in Anthropogeny) originated more than a decade ago as a small group of UCSD and Salk Institute faculty with a common interest in a scientific explanation for the origin of humans (the definition of "Anthropogeny"). This informal gathering, the La Jolla group for explaining the Origin of Humans (LOH), hosted private symposiums that drew experts from many related fields of research. As membership grew to include prestigious national and international participants, the gatherings developed into the more formal Project for explaining the Origin of Humans (POH), and began to sponsor public presentations. In 2008, the POH project evolved into CARTA, whose more than 200 members reflect transdisciplinary approaches spanning a wide spectrum of disciplines relevant to Anthropogeny. Initial support for these endeavors has been provided by the G. Harold & Leila Y. Mathers Charitable Foundation which recently agreed to continue funding the development of the multifaceted CARTA program for an additional three years. "Support from the Mathers Foundation has been crucial to the seeding and launch of CARTA, and we are grateful for their continued support... but our future success depends on broadening our base of support" said Ajit Varki, Co-Director of CARTA. "We are eager to develop new partnerships as we move forward with our transdisciplinary mission... to understand where humans came from, and how we got here."