In May, the National Academy of Sciences awarded membership to three Scripps Research faculty—Hollis Cline, PhD; Jane Dyson, PhD; and James Williamson, PhD—recognizing their “distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.” Election to the National Academy is one of the highest honors given to scientists. 

Cline, the Hahn Professor of Neuroscience at Scripps Research, is a leader in research that explores how sensory experience affects brain development and plasticity. Her comprehensive body of work has advanced understanding of developmental neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia. She also serves as chair of the Department of Neuroscience and director of the Dorris Neuroscience Center. 

Dyson is a professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology, where she studies the relationships between amino acid sequences of proteins and their structure and function. Her work in intrinsically disordered proteins and in understanding enzyme and protein function has led to numerous discoveries on cancer tumor growth and drug design. 

Williamson is the executive vice president of Research and Academic Affairs at Scripps Research and a professor in the departments of Chemistry and Integrative Structural and Computational Biology. He uses cutting-edge biochemistry, biophysics and structural biology approaches to uncover insights into RNA—molecules in cells heavily involved in translating genes into proteins, as well as fine-tuning gene activity. 

With the election of Cline, Dyson and Williamson, Scripps Research faculty now hold 30 memberships in the National Academies of Sciences, Medicine and Engineering.