Tim Harris, Ph.D., D.Sc

Tim Harris is a science and business leader with over 30 years of experience guiding and leading laboratory work and scientists in a range of research areas. He is a molecular biologist and biochemist, and currently serves as the SVP for Translational Medicine and Biochemistry at Biogen Idec. From 2007-2011, he was the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and Director of the Advanced Technology Program (ATP) at SAIC-Frederick, Inc. in Maryland, which operates the National Cancer Institute’s leading center for cancer and AIDS research. He has served as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Novasite Pharmaceuticals, and founded SGX Pharmaceuticals (formerly Structural Genomix) in 1999, where he built the company to more than 130 employees, raised $85M in capital, and generated more than $20M in revenue during six years as CEO. Before founding SGX, Dr. Harris was Senior Vice President, Research and Development at Sequana/Axys starting in 1993. He began his career in 1974 working on animal viruses such as that causing Foot & Mouth Disease and was one of the first molecular biologists at Celltech (now UCB Pharma) in the United Kingdom in 1981. He subsequently spent five years at Glaxo Group Research as Director of Biotechnology before going to Sequana in San Diego. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Birmingham in the UK in 2010 where he did his Biochemistry degree and Ph.D. from 1968 to 1974.