Research Summary
Dr. Williamson is a newly appointed Assistant Professor at NCSU. He completed his PhD at UNC in the Magness lab. His thesis work focused on engineering techniques to access the enclosed apical surface of organoids. He contributed to biomaterial innovation that allowed organoids to grow on top of matrix proteins, exposing the apical surface to the culture media and facilitating screenings of dietary and microbial components. He also developed a semi-automated microinjection platform capable of delivering microbial cargos into the enclosed cavity of embedded organoids. He showed that the enclosed organoid “lumen” shared many properties with the intestine lumen and supported the growth of similar complex anaerobic microbiota communities. During this work, his interest in microbiota interactions grew motivating him to learn whole-animal host-microbe research techniques. He was a postdoc at Duke where he worked with CGIBD members John Rawls and Rodger Liddle. He currently directs a research team interested in the role of enteric metabolism in disease. His long-term goal is to develop therapies targeting enteric metabolism to correct disease associated nutrient imbalances and improve the quality of life for human and animal patients.
CGIBD Focus Area(s): Regeneration and Repair
Collaborators: Magness, Rawls
