Philip Dawson

Philip Dawson, PhD, is a Professor in the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research and Dean of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Sciences. His research focuses on developing chemical methods to synthesize proteins with unnatural chemical groups, including advancements in native chemical ligation, bioconjugation, and Reversible Adsorption to Solid Support (RASS) technology. He holds a B.A. from Washington University and a PhD from The Scripps Research Institute.

• Education: A.B., Washington University (1992); PhD, Scripps Research (1996)
• Positions: Professor (2016–present), Dean (2017–2024), and former Associate Dean (2012–2017)

His research interests span chemical protein synthesis, bioconjugation methods, and RASS-enabled DNA-encoded libraries. Notable achievements include pioneering native chemical ligation and oxime/hydrazones for protein engineering. Over 35 graduate and postdoctoral students have been advised under his mentorship.

Awards:

• Alfred P. Sloan Fellow (1999–2001)
• Vincent du Vigneaud Award (2010)
• Gold Medal of the Max Bergmann Kreis (2011)
• Elected President of the American Peptide Society (2013–2018)
• Akabori Memorial Award (2020)

Labs/Teams: The Dawson Lab focuses on advancing chemical methodologies for protein synthesis and bioconjugation, with applications in drug delivery and biomaterials. The lab is housed at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California.