Gareth WIlliams

Dr. Gareth Williams

PhD

Positions

Associate Professor

Cumming School of Medicine, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Member

Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute

Member

Robson DNA Science Centre

Contact information

Phone number

Office: 403.220.8385
Lab: 403.210.7895

Location

Office: HRIC2A18
Lab: HRIC2B34

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Kelly Johnston
Senior Communications Specialist

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Preferred method of communication

Admin Assistant

Benedicta Odame-Ankrah
Email: b.odameankrah@ucalgary.ca

Office: 403.220.3029

Background

Educational Background

B.S. Biochemistry and genetics, University of Nottingham, 2002

Doctor of Philosophy Biology, University of St. Andrews, 2006

Biography

Dr. Gareth Williams is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology. He earned his PhD from the University of St Andrews (Scotland, UK) in 2006 and trained at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (California, USA) until the end of 2015. In February 2016, he opened his own laboratory within the Arnie Charbonneau Cancer Institute at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine.

Research

Areas of Research

Area of Focus
  • Structure-based mechanisms of genomic instability and cancer
Summary of Research

The Williams lab applies structural biology approaches to determine molecular mechanisms of genomic instability and cancer. A main interest in the lab is to understand the molecular basis for key steps in the homologous recombination repair (HRR) pathway. HRR plays a critical role in maintaining genomic stability by accurately repairing DNA double strand breaks and inter-strand crosslinks, the most toxic forms of DNA damage, as well as damaged replication forks. The importance of HRR for protecting against cancer is highlighted by inherited mutations in HRR genes (including BRCA1, BRCA2, and the RAD51 paralogs) that predispose to breast and ovarian cancers. Using hybrid structural techniques, with a focus on combining small-angle X-ray scattering with macromolecular X-ray crystallography, we can determine the structural basis for protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions, as well as the effect of ATP binding and hydrolysis on macromolecular conformational changes and assembly states. Using structure-based insights we design mutations to perturb interactions and activities, which are then used in biochemical and functional assays to inform the underlying biology. Furthermore, our structures and approaches provide a molecular framework that can be used to both understand the effect of disease associated mutations, and to guide the design of future cancer therapies.