William M. Atkins

William M. Atkins is the Sidney D. Nelson Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy, where he has been faculty since 1991 and served as Chair of the Department from 2016-2025. He is also the Graduate Program Director for the Department of Medicinal Chemistry and co-Director of the Analytical Biopharmacy Core.

Dr. Atkins earned his BS in Chemistry from The College of William and Mary, MA in Pharmacology from Harvard University, and PhD in Biochemistry from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He completed postdoctoral research at Pennsylvania State University as an NIH Kirschstein Postdoctoral Fellow.

His research focuses on the enzymology of detoxification enzymes and drug metabolism with particular emphasis on biophysical mechanisms. His laboratory investigates Cytochrome P450s and their allosteric properties, Glutathione S-transferases, P-glycoprotein, phospholipid bilayer nanodiscs, and therapeutic antibodies. Recent work includes characterization of nanoparticles for drug delivery and therapeutic antibody drug conjugates.

His recent publications reveal a strong focus on protein dynamics, enzyme-ligand interactions, and the biophysical mechanisms underlying drug metabolism. His work spans structural biology, enzymology, and pharmaceutical sciences with particular emphasis on cytochrome P450 systems and membrane transporters.

Dr. Atkins serves on the International Organizing Committee for The Biennial International Conferences on Cytochrome P450's and the International Microsomes and Drug Oxidations Conference. He has served on NIH and NSF review panels and is a member of the editorial boards of Archives in Biochemistry and Biophysics and Environmental Toxicology.

Dr. Atkins has trained numerous PhD students who now hold positions in academia and industry, including faculty positions at Yale University, University of Georgia, University of Kansas Medical Center, and research scientist roles at major pharmaceutical companies including Janssen, Amgen, Merck, and Vertex Pharmaceuticals.

His laboratory utilizes advanced spectroscopic and analytical techniques including time-resolved fluorimetry, stopped-flow fluorescence, NMR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, and various biophysical characterization instruments for studying protein dynamics and enzyme mechanisms.