James Williamson Named VP for Academic Affairs; Douglas Bingham Appointed Executive VP/COO

The Scripps Research Institute’s (TSRI) new CEO Peter G. Schultz and President-Elect Steve A. Kay have announced two additional appointments to the leadership team—James R. Williamson and Douglas A. Bingham.

Williamson, TSRI’s dean of graduate and postgraduate studies, assumes additional responsibilities as vice president of academic affairs. In addition to continuing as dean, in this new capacity he will work with Schultz and Kay on academic planning, faculty affairs and training program partnerships.

Bingham returns to his former position as executive vice president and chief operating officer. In this role, Bingham oversees TSRI’s administrative, legal and scientific support functions on both the La Jolla, California and Jupiter, Florida campuses.

“I look forward to capitalizing on [Jamie and Doug’s] extensive experience to help realize our exciting vision for TSRI's future,” said Kay in a memo to the TSRI community.

Both appointments are effective immediately.

James R. Williamson

Williamson is a professor in the TSRI Departments of Integrative Structural & Computational Biology and Chemistry, as well as a member of the Skaggs Institute for Chemical Biology. 

His research involves the study of RNA structure, RNA-protein interactions and RNA-ligand interactions using biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology approaches.

Williamson received his PhD in Chemistry from Stanford University in 1988. Following postdoctoral work at the University of Colorado, he joined the faculty at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990, where he attained the rank of associate professor with tenure. 

In 1998, Williamson moved to TSRI as a professor, and in 2001 he became the associate dean for the graduate program in chemistry. In 2008, he became TSRI’s dean of graduate and postdoctoral studies. 

Douglas A. Bingham, Esq.

Prior to a short-lived retirement that began in 2013, Bingham played a key role in managing and implementing institutional policy and strategy at TSRI, including developing a business plan for the Scripps Florida campus. As TSRI’s former chief patent counsel, he managed the institute’s patent portfolio, helped to develop a successful licensing program for the organization's extensive array of scientific discoveries and negotiated numerous licensing agreements.

Bingham has also served in several other management positions at TSRI from 1991 to 2005, including executive vice president and general counsel, senior vice president and general counsel, vice president, chief patent counsel and assistant secretary of the Board of Trustees.  

Bingham was also a partner at Dressler, Goldsmith, Shore, Sutker & Milnamow, a law firm he joined in 1983. From 1979 to 1983, he was a senior research associate at TSRI (then known as the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation).

A graduate of Western State University (JD, 1985) and the University of Maryland (BS, 1977), Bingham is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the American Intellectual Property Law Association, San Diego Intellectual Property Association, American Bar Association, San Diego County Bar Association, American Corporate Counsel Association and the Licensing Executive Society. In addition, he is a member of the Bar of the State of California, U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit, U.S. District Court, Southern District of California and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

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