Ryan Williams, PhD

Ryan M. Williams, Ph.D. is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer
(MSKCC) Center Molecular Pharmacology Program. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Biology from the
University of Virginia in 2008. In 2013, Dr. Williams earned a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical and
Pharmacological Sciences from West Virginia University. His work there, performed under the guidance
of Prof. Letha Sooter, focused on the selection of molecular recognition elements for prostate cancer
cells and environmental contaminants as well as the interaction of carbon nanotubes with biological
systems. As a graduate student, Dr. Williams received an American Foundation for Pharmaceutical
Education Pre‐Doctoral Fellowship in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and a NanoSAFE Graduate Fellowship.
Following his graduate work, Dr. Williams joined the lab of his mentor, Dr. Daniel Heller. In collaboration
with Dr. Douglas Levine at MSKCC, his current research focuses on the characterization and translation
of a unique implantable nanosensor to detect ovarian cancer biomarkers at early stages of disease.