Tim Harris (born 11 May 1950) is a

molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

who is a science and business leader who has led laboratory work,

scientist A scientist is a person who Scientific method, researches to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, philosophers engag ...

s and companies in a range of research activities in the

Biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

Industry since 1978.

Early life and education

Harris was brought up in the

Chiltern Hills The Chiltern Hills or the Chilterns are a chalk escarpment in southern England, located to the north-west of London, covering across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire; they stretch from Goring-on-Thames in the south- ...

west of London and is the son of Dr. RJC Harris who was a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...

and cancer research scientist and who was at ICRF and later ran the Microbiological Research Establishment at Porton Down in the 1970s. Harris was educated at

Uppingham school Uppingham School is a public school (English fee-charging boarding and day school for pupils 13–18) in Uppingham, Rutland, England, founded in 1584 by Robert Johnson, the Archdeacon of Leicester, who also established Oakham School. ...

and obtained a BSc in

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in Molecular Virology with Prof Peter Wildy at the

University of Birmingham The University of Birmingham (informally Birmingham University) is a Public university, public research university in Birmingham, England. It received its royal charter in 1900 as a successor to Queen's College, Birmingham (founded in 1825 as ...

. He was awarded an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

for his work in Biotechnology from his alma mater in 2010.

Work

Harris was EVP of Research & Development at

Bioverativ Bioverativ Inc. is an American multinational biotechnology company that specializes in the discovery, development, and delivery of therapies for the treatment of haemophilia. Bioverativ competes with Baxalta (acquired by Shire Plc in 2016), P ...

until it was acquired by Sanofi in 2018. From 2011 to 2016, He worked as SVP Translational Medicine at

Biogen Biogen Inc. is an American multinational biotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States specializing in the discovery, development, and delivery of the treatment of neurological diseases to patients worldwide. Biogen ope ...

. He was CEO of SGX Pharmaceuticals from 1999 to 2006, VP R&D at Sequana Therapeutics (1993-1999), and Director of the Advanced Technology Program and CTO at SAIC-Frederick, Inc. (2007-2011). He began his scientific career working in the UK on animal viruses at the Animal Virus Research Institute at

Pirbright Pirbright () is a village in Surrey, England. Pirbright is in the Guildford (borough), borough of Guildford and has a civil parish council covering the traditional boundaries of the area. Pirbright contains one buffered sub-locality, Stanford ...

and spent one year (1976-1977) at

SUNY Stony Brook Stony Brook University (SBU), officially the State University of New York at Stony Brook, is a public research university in Stony Brook, New York, United States, on Long Island. Along with the University at Buffalo, it is one of the State Univ ...

working with Dr. E Wimmer on polio virus. Dr. Harris was one of the first molecular biologists to be employed at the UK Biotech company

Celltech Celltech Group plc was a leading British-based biotechnology business based in Slough. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index. Celltech was instrumental in changing the UK's system of technology tr ...

(now UCB Pharma) (1981-1989). Dr Harris was Director of Biotechnology at Glaxo Group Research (Now GSK) (1989-1993). He is presently a Venture Partner at SV Health Investors. Dr. Harris has founded several biotechnology companies including Caraway Therapeutics, a lysophagy company (2016) bought by Merck in 2023 and Catamaran Bio (2019), a company developing NK cell therapeutics. He is currently on the

board of directors A board of directors is a governing body that supervises the activities of a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government agency. The powers, duties, and responsibilities of a board of directors are determined by government regulatio ...

of Phenome TX in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and Chairman of the SAB of Catamaran Bio. He was also a visiting professor at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in New York. Dr Harris has published over 100 scientific papers and several reviews. Some of the most important include identifying genes involved in ALS using exome sequencing and finding risk factors associated with NMO. Most recently he has published on the importance of

T cell T cells (also known as T lymphocytes) are an important part of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell receptor (TCR) on their cell ...

s in SARS CoV-2 infection. He has written a book on the history of the biotech industry called ' In pursuit of unicorns: A journey through 50 years of biotechnology' which will be published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press in early 2024.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Tim Living people 1950 births British molecular biologists People associated with the University of Birmingham People educated at Uppingham School Alumni of the University of Birmingham