Journal: Microscopy and Microanalysis
Bio
Alexis Williams is a Staff Scientist within the Physical Sciences Directorate and the Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate. After receiving her B.S in Biochemistry, Cellular, and Molecular Biology from the University of Tennessee in 2013 she took part in the Post-Bachelor's Research Associate Program through ORAU within the Neutron Scattering Division. During graduate school, Alexis was a McLaughlin Research Fellow in Infectious Disease and Biodefense at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Her main research focus was to use structural biology techniques to understand how viruses utilize host factors at the site of infection to evade the immune system. After receiving a PhD in Biochemistry and Biophysics in 2021, she went on to a NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship in Gastroenterology at Vanderbilt where she used integrative structural biology approaches to determine the mechanism of protein/lipid interaction in cell signaling pathways. As a Staff Scientist, Alexis uses cryoEM and her expertise in structural biology to understand how membrane lipid composition and protein/lipid interaction plays a role in metabolism, viral infection, and the development of a variety of disease states.
Awards
CNMS Special Team Award for cryoEM facility development
Lina Obeid Young Scientist Award
SELRC Travel Award
NIH Postdoctoral T32 Fellow in Gastroenterology
McLaughin Fellowship in Infectious Disease and Biodefense
Albert Sanders Award
UTMB GSBS Travel Award
UTMB BMB Travel Award
Steunenbrink Award
UTMB Title IX Service Award
Specialized Equipment
Cryo-electron microscopy
X-ray crystallography
Protein purification
Virus purification
3D reconstructions