Michael G. Johnson

Michael G. Johnson is a medicinal chemist with over 20 years of experience in the design and synthesis of novel small molecule drugs across various therapeutic areas. They began their career as a Research Associate at Ligand Pharmaceuticals and have since held key positions, including VP of Chemistry at Azkarra Therapeutics and VP of Drug Discovery at SyntheX, where they currently lead efforts in drug discovery. Johnson earned a B.A. in chemistry from Reed College and a Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the California Institute of Technology, during which they worked with esteemed professors. Their leadership in project teams has led to successful IND and FIH milestones throughout their career.