About

David L. Williams

 David Williams attended the University of California at Berkley where he received his A.B. in Zoology in 1967.  He then went on to the University of Illinois at Urbana for his doctoral training where he worked in the laboratory of Jack Gorski. In a distinguished graduate career that produced nine publications over a 5 year period, David detailed the impact of ligand binding on the relative distribution of the estrogen receptor in the cytosol and nucleus. After a short stint as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California, San Francisco, Dave joined the faculty of the Dept. of Pharmacological Sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1974 as one its founding members. He remained in his position at Stony Brook for the next 30 years, becoming a full professor in 1986 and serving at various times as his department’s vice-chair and interim chair.
David’s research focused initially on avian yolk protein production and its regulation by estrogenic steroids. His advances were recognized by the National Institutes of Health in the form of a MERIT Award granted in 1990.  Although the major emphasis during Dave’s early career was on the regulation of avian yolk protein biogenesis by steroid hormones, these studies soon brought him into the mainstream of lipoprotein and atherosclerosis research.

Discoveries

Among Dave’s discoveries is that apoE could achieve protection from atherosclerosis in mice independently of its role as a ligand for lipoprotein receptors. Indeed, when apoE expression was limited to the adrenals, a robust protection against atherosclerosis was observed with virtually no effect on plasma lipids. Although the basis for the non-lipoprotein-mediated effects of low-level apoE expression is not yet known, these studies have created a bridge between lipoprotein metabolism and vascular wall biology that continues to be the subject of broad inquiry. Dave also spent considerable time and effort training the next generation of scientists, and he excelled in this area. A total of 29 of his trainees have gone on to productive careers in academia and industry, including 13 faculty members at 10 different academic institutions in the United States and abroad. Dave was also a dedicated and outstanding educator who consistently involved himself in the development and implementation of curricula and training programs. His annual series of lectures on “Principles of Medical Pharmacology” have been noted by three decades of Stony Brook medical and graduate students as educational highlights. In appreciation of his engaging and effective teaching style, Dave was awarded the Aesculapius Award for Outstanding Teaching by the Stony Brook University School of Medicine in 1997.

Contributions

In addition to his research and teaching accomplishments, Dave provided extensive service to the scientific community. He was a member of the editorial boards of Molecular Endocrinology and the Journal of Lipid Research and also provided ad hoc reviews for more than a dozen scientific journals. He was an active member of the American Heart Association and served as a spokesperson for the National Marfan Foundation. Dave served on numerous review committees for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health and was a member of the National Institutes of Health Metabolism Study Section from 1991 to 1995. He was a frequent session chair and moderator and chaired the Gordon Conference on Lipoprotein Metabolism in 1998.

The scientific community of lipid and atherosclerosis research lost a valued member with the passing of Dr. David L. Williams on July 16, 2004, after a long struggle with Marfan syndrome. His mentorship, friendship, courage, love of life, and wonderful sense of humor are celebrated annually at the Kern Lipid Conference; and his many contributions are commemorated through the David L. Williams Lectureship and Award for Early Career Investigators.