Scott Johnson

About Scott Johnson

I work at the intersection of computational chemistry, cheminformatics, and AI/ML to turn complex biology and large, noisy datasets into clear design hypotheses and faster, better decisions across the discovery pipeline. As a pipeline-focused scientific leader, I partner with medicinal chemistry, biology, HTS, and data engineering to shape strategy and deliver results that move programs forward and scale across teams. In addition to my primary contribution as a computational chemistry and cheminformatics scientist, I’m known for practical yet innovative software development: I design and ship predictive models, decision-support tools, and robust data/compute pipelines. I invest heavily in people—hiring and mentoring high-trust teams, coaching early-career scientists, and setting standards for data quality and documentation—while translating strategy into deployable, scientifically rigorous tools and measurable program impact that advance the portfolio.

Experience

1. Scientific Associate Director

   Bristol Myers Squibb

   Jun 2023 — Present · San Diego, CA, US

   Lead the San Diego, portfolio-facing CADD group; set modeling strategy, prioritization, and standards in partnership with site and program leadership- Co-lead for high-throughput chemistry data analysis and triage strategy- Mentor and leader across CADD, Cheminformatics, and Structural Biology- Leader for ”Predict First” and ”Generative AI” project objectives within CADD- Innovated novel computational chemistry and cheminformatics methods for protein degradation- Created and implemented large-scale workflows for small molecules and biologics- Led major cheminformatics initiatives around protein degradation ML and patent analyses- Scientific representative to the Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC)

Education

• UCLA

  Ph.D., Chemistry

  2006 — 2012

• UCLA

  M.S., Computer Science

  2008 — 2011

• Emory University

  B.S., Chemistry

  2002 — 2006