Education

Ph.D., University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill
B.S., Johnson C. Smith University

Biography

Dr. Kimberly Williams is an assistant professor at Spelman College in the Environmental and Health Sciences Program. A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Dr. Williams graduated from the Math and Science Magnet program at Benjamin E. Mays High School. During her summers as a high school student, she also participated in the Science and Math Summer Enrichment Program held at Spelman College.

Dr. Williams received her Bachelor of Science from Johnson C. Smith University where she majored in biology and minored in chemistry. As an undergrad, she participated in biomedical research programs such as the LS-AMP (Alliances for Minority Participation) and MBRS-RISE (Minority Biomedical Research Support-Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement).

Through these programs Dr. Williams completed her 1^st research experience at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte where she studied the effects of cadmium and temperature on the mitochondrial protein aconitase in the eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica. After graduating college, Dr. Williams became a post-baccalaureate fellow at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill where she studied developmental changes in the localization and subunit composition of a class of receptors necessary for neural plasticity, known as N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptors.

Dr. Williams received her Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill in 2015. Her T32, F31-funded dissertation identified growth factor signaling as a novel potential therapeutic adjunctive strategy to prevent neuronal damage and loss seen in HIV- associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND). In graduate school, Dr. Williams was also a HHMI scholar which certified her as a translational researcher through the Med into Grad translational medicine program. She also received certifications in college teaching and effective mentoring.

Dr. Williams completed her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania as a PENN-Postdoctoral Opportunities in Research and Teaching (PENN-PORT) postdoctoral fellow, an K12-sponsored, Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) postdoctoral training program.

She  continued in the NeuroAIDS field as a postdoctoral fellow, and she characterized a natural flaxseed lignin, Secoisolariciresinol Diglucoside (SDG) as a novel drug candidate for HIV associated neurocognitive disorders. Through Penn-PORT, she served as a visiting professor at Rutgers-Camden University where she taught a Principles of Biology course. She also served as a visiting professor at Lincoln University where she developed and taught a Neuroimmune Disorders of the Central Nervous System course.

Dr. Williams overarching career and research goals are to lead a translational research program focused on the development of new targeted therapeutics for mental health disorders influenced by neuroinflammation while increasing diversity in biological sciences through teaching and mentorship

Courses Taught

Advances in Medical Microbiology
Mammalian Physiology
Research Inquiries in Health Science
Introduction to Health Science
COVID-19 and Vaccine Development
Research and Evaluation

Research Interests

• Assessing neuronal, responses to neuroinflammatory stimuli (i.e. oxidative stress, chemokines/cytokines, excitotoxicity). 
• Determining mechanisms of neuroprotection in neuroinflammatory insult. 
• Molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal loss in neurodegenerative disorders (i.e. Alzheimer’s Disease, Post-traumatic stress disorder, and HIV associated neurocognitive disorders).
• Assessing the roll of sex hormones during aging and disease
  
  

Current Research

Our lab is interested in understanding how immune cells interact with the Central Nervous System using cross-disciplinary approaches to understand the underlying mechanisms of neuroinflammation and reveal endogenous signaling mechanisms that lead to novel therapeutic options. Macrophages and microglial cells, in particular, are major players in the neuropathogenesis of many neurologic disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND), despite their differing etiologies.

Due to the success of ART, women living with HIV are reaching menopausal ages, where estrogen concentrations are significantly decreased. 30% of women living with HIV also suffer from PTSD. An understanding of effects of PTSD on HIV-induced neuroinflammation in post-menopausal women at the cellular level is needed to develop target therapeutic avenues. Estrogen, itself, has neuroprotective properties and low estrogen levels are associated with worse HIV prognosis and PTSD symptoms in traumatized women, highlighting its role as a possible therapeutic option.  Our lab is interested in elucidating the role of estrogen signaling during HIV and PTSD neuroinflammation, as a potential therapeutic.

Publications

Killebrew DA^*, Williams K.S.^*, Xie Y, Longo F, Meeker RB (2021). Suppression of HIV-associated Macrophage Activation by a p75 Neurotrophin Receptor Ligand. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol. 2021 Jul 22. doi: 10.1007/s11481-021-10002-x. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 34296391. (Co-first author)

Ryan SK, Gonzalez MV, Garifallou JP, Bennett FC, Williams K.S., Sotuyo NP, Mironets E, Cook K, Hakonarson H, Anderson SA, Jordan-Sciutto KL (2020).  Neuroinflammation and EIF2 Signaling Persist despite Antiretroviral Treatment in an hiPSC Tri-culture Model of HIV Infection.  Stem Cell Reports. 2020 Apr 14;14(4):703-716. doi: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2020.02.010. Epub 2020 Mar 26. PubMed PMID: 32220329; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7160309.

K.S.Williams, D.A. Killebrew, G.P. Clary, R.B. Meeker (2015). Opposing Effects of NGF and proNGF on HIV Induced Macrophage Activation. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol, doi:10.1007/s11481-015-9631-z.

K.S. Williams, D.A. Killebrew,  G.P.Clary, J.A. Seawell & R.B. Meeker (2015). Differential regulation of macrophage phenotype by mature and pro-nerve growth factor. J Neuroimmunol 285, 76-93, doi:10.1016/j.jneuroim.2015.05.016.

R. B. Meeker, K.S. Williams (2015). The p75 neurotrophin receptor: at  the crossroad of neural repair and death. Neural Regen Res. 10(5):721-5., doi: 10.4103/1673-5374.

R. B. Meeker, K.S. Williams (2014). Dynamic nature of the p75 neurotrophin receptor in response to injury and disease. J Neuroimmune Pharmacol 9, 615-628, doi:10.1007/s11481-014-9566-9.

R. B. Meeker, K.S. Williams,  D.A. Killebrew, L.C. Hudson (2012). Cell trafficking through the choroid plexus. Cell Adh Migr 6, 390-396, doi:10.4161/cam.21054.

B. Sanni, K.S. Williams, E. Sokolov, I. Sokolova (2008). Effects of acclimation temperature and cadmium exposure on mitochondrial aconitase and LON protease from a model marine ectotherm, Crassostrea virginica. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, 147C:101-112.