Research Interests
An avid researcher with many published works to his credit, Dr. Williams has performed groundbreaking studies in the area of lipoproteins and atherosclerosis. He is the principal investigator on several NIH-funded projects and holds 11 patents issued since 1998. Dr. Williams has served as an ad hoc reviewer for many journals, and is currently a consulting editor for the Journal of Clinical Investigation. Additionally, he serves on the editorial board of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (an American Heart Association journal) and Rambam (Maimonides) Medical Journal.
His research in atherosclerosis and diabetes encompasses the following areas:
Widely accepted work on the origin of atherosclerosis, focusing on the retention of LDL and related lipoproteins within arterial walls and the subsequent development of plaque, plaque ruptures and clot formation. Williams’s work has provided a basis for a new unity among basic research, epidemiologic, pharmacologic and clinical approaches to cardiovascular disease, the leading killer worldwide.
The inability of the liver in patients with diabetes to rapidly and safely dispose of postprandial triglyceride-rich remnant lipoproteins. The result is diabetic dyslipidemia, a substantial factor in elevating atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. Williams’s laboratory is currently exploring corrective strategies.
The essential, but previously unsuspected, role that particular proteins play in the insulin-signaling cascade. The Williams laboratory reported his initial, novel findings in June 2009 at the American Diabetes Association’s annual scientific sessions.
Explaining his research focus, Williams says, “Atherosclerosis kills about 50 percent of the people living in Western societies, and about 80 percent of people with diabetes will suffer from cardiovascular events. As more of the world adopts Western lifestyles, these problems are growing in both the U.S. and worldwide, and both of these common diseases hit the population Temple serves particularly hard.”
Clinical Interests
Lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities, particularly in insulin resistence and type 2 diabetes
Cause, prevention and reversal of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease
Education, Training & Credentials
- Fellowship, Metabolism, Columbia University, New York City, NY, 1985
- Fellowship, Clinical Endocrinology, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT, 1984
- Residency, Internal Medicine, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 1983
- MD, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 1980
Certifications: Internal Medicine
Memberships
- Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis & Vascular Biology of the American Heart Association
- Philadelphia Lipid Research Club