James Williamson

James Williamson, PhD, is a Professor and Chair in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at Scripps Research. He holds joint appointments in Chemistry and the Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Sciences. His research focuses on RNA structure, ribosome assembly, and the structural biology of RNA-protein complexes. Williamson has held leadership roles, including Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at The Kellogg School of Science and Technology and Executive Vice President for Research and Academic Affairs at TSRI.

Education: B.S. in Chemistry (Mount Union College, 1981); Ph.D. in Chemistry (Stanford University, 1988). Postdoctoral training at the University of Colorado with Thomas R. Cech and Stanford with Steven G. Boxer.

Research Interests: The lab investigates RNA structure and function, ribosome assembly dynamics using cryo-EM and mass spectrometry, HIV RNA-protein interactions, and RNA-guided regulation of stem cell differentiation in C. elegans. Key techniques include biochemical assays, structural genomics, and single-molecule fluorescence methods.

Awards: Multiple prestigious awards include the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award (1995), election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2010), and the National Academy of Sciences (2022).

Grants and Collaborations: Collaborations include work with David Millar, Clint Potter, and Ron Milligan on ribosome assembly. Research funded by NIH, HHMI, and other agencies. Labs: Williamson Lab at Scripps Research, focusing on structural biology and ribosome biogenesis.