David S. Williams, PhD

David S. Williams, PhD
Lab Director

Professor of Ophthalmology and Professor of Neurobiology
UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA

Biography

Earned B.Sc. with First Class Honours in Animal Physiology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, 1978. 
Completed Ph.D. in Neurobiology, Department of Neurobiology, Institute for Advanced Studies, Australian National University, 1982

My laboratory studies the cell biology of the photoreceptor and RPE cells and related retinal disease. 
We use a combination of mouse genetics, biochemistry, molecular biology, and different forms of microscopy, including live-cell imaging. 
Our studies include both in vivo studies and cell-based analyses. 

Areas of focus include:
(1) The photoreceptor cilium, involving the delivery of opsin to the photoreceptor outer segment and pathogenesis in ciliopathies. 
(2) Retinal degeneration in Usher syndrome, involving studies of the Usher proteins and strategies for treatments via gene therapy. 
(3) RPE cell biology and disease, involving the motility and processing of phagosomes in health and disease, particularly macular degeneration. 
(4) Analyses of AMD pathogenesis, using iPSC-derived RPE cells, originating from AMD patients.