Julie Williams

Prof Julie Williams

Group Leader

Understanding the genetics of Alzheimer's disease

Biography

Prof Julie Williams is a world leader in the genetics of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia and former Chief Scientific Advisor to the Welsh Government. She was the founding Centre Director for UK DRI at Cardiff from 2017-2024. With a background in Psychology, Julie obtained her PhD from the University of Wales Institute of Science and Technology. She joined University of Wales College of Medicine in 1991 as a Research Assistant, rising to Reader in Neuropsychological Genetics. As a co-lead in global initiatives her group has contributed to the discovery of over 40 susceptibility loci for AD. These findings implicate the role of immunity in disease development and specifically the contribution of microglia. Computational genetics of AD shows it to be a disease of multiple components which together, allow the prediction of those at high risk. Julie’s contribution to the field was recognised with a CBE in 2012. She is also an advocate for women in STEMM, commissioning a report that aimed to address the gender imbalance in science, published in 2016. Julie is also a member of the Council of the Academy of Medical Sciences and their champion in Wales.

News

Key publications

Alzheimer's & dementia : the journal of the Alzheimer's Association
Published
Basic Science and Pathogenesis
Authors
Ting-Chen Wang, Jigyasha Timsina, Chenyang Jiang, Daniel L McCartney, Feifei Tao, Federica Anastasi, Patricia Genius, Blanca Rodríguez-Fernández, Arcadi Navarro, Raquel Puerta, Sven J van der Lee, Riccardo E Marioni, Lars Bertram, Nagle W Michael, Rebecca Sims, Natalia Vilor-Tejedor, Joseph Bradley, Muhammad Ali, Ciyang Wang, Menghan Liu, Agustin Ruiz, Maria Victoria Fernandez, Julie Williams, John P Budde, Betty Tijms, Atahualpa Castillo, Kaj Blennow, Henrik Zetterberg, Alberto Lleo, Virginia M M-Y Lee, Amanda J Heslegrave, Pau Pastor, Elaine R Peskind, Andrew J Saykin, John C Morris, Suzanne E Schindler, David M Holtzman, Matthias Riemenschneider, Marilyn S S Albert, Vivianna M Van Deerlin, Leslie M Shaw, Yun Ju Ju Sung, Timothy J Hohman, Carlos Cruchaga, Logan Dumitrescu
Basic Science and Pathogenesis
Molecular neurodegeneration
Published
Domain mapping of disease mutations reveals pathogenic SORL1 variants in Alzheimer's disease
Authors
Olav M Andersen, Matthijs W J de Waal, Giulia Monti, Niccolo Tesi, Anne Mette G Jensen, Christa de Geus, Rosalina van Spaendonk, Maartje Vogel, Shahzad Ahmad, Najaf Amin, Philippe Amouyel, Gary W Beecham, Céline Bellenguez, Claudine Berr, Joshua C Bis, Anne Boland, Paola Bossù, Femke Bouwman, Jose Bras, Camille Charbonnier, Jordi Clarimon, Carlos Cruchaga, Antonio Daniele, Jean-François Dartigues, Stéphanie Debette, Jean-François Deleuze, Nicola Denning, Anita L DeStefano, Oriol Dols-Icardo, Cornelia M van Duijn, Lindsay A Farrer, Maria Victoria Fernández, Wiesje M van der Flier, Nick C Fox, Daniela Galimberti, Emmanuelle Genin, Johan J P Gille, Benjamin Grenier-Boley, Detelina Grozeva, Yann Le Guen, Rita Guerreiro, Jonathan L Haines, Clive Holmes, Holger Hummerich, M Arfan Ikram, M Kamran Ikram, Amit Kawalia, Robert Kraaij, Jean-Charles Lambert, Marc Lathrop, Afina W Lemstra, Alberto Lleó, Richard M Myers, Marcel M A M Mannens, Rachel Marshall, Eden R Martin, Carlo Masullo, Richard Mayeux, Simon Mead, Patrizia Mecocci, Alun Meggy, Merel O Mol, Benedetta Nacmias, Adam C Naj, Valerio Napolioni, J Nicholas Cochran, Gaël Nicolas, Florence Pasquier, Pau Pastor, Margaret A Pericak-Vance, Yolande A L Pijnenburg, Fabrizio Piras, Olivier Quenez, Alfredo Ramirez, Rachel Raybould, Richard Redon, Marcel J T Reinders, Anne-Claire Richard, Steffi G Riedel-Heller, Fernando Rivadeneira, Jeroen G J van Rooij, Stéphane Rousseau, Natalie S Ryan, Pascual Sanchez-Juan, Gerard D Schellenberg, Philip Scheltens, Jonathan M Schott, Sudha Seshadri, Daoud Sie, Rebecca Sims, Erik A Sistermans, Sandro Sorbi, John C van Swieten, Betty Tijms, André G Uitterlinden, Pieter Jelle Visser, Michael Wagner, David Wallon, Li-San Wang, Julie Williams, Jennifer S Yokoyama, Aline Zarea, Sven J van der Lee, Johan G Olsen, Marc Hulsman, Henne Holstege
Domain mapping of disease mutations reveals pathogenic SORL1 variants in Alzheimer's disease
Nature communications
Published
Whole-exome sequencing analysis identifies risk genes for schizophrenia
Authors
Sophie L Chick, Peter Holmans, Darren Cameron, Detelina Grozeva, Rebecca Sims, Julie Williams, Nicholas J Bray, Michael J Owen, Michael C O'Donovan, James T R Walters, Elliott Rees
Whole-exome sequencing analysis identifies risk genes for schizophrenia
Stem cell reports
Published
Modeling common Alzheimer's disease with high and low polygenic risk in human iPSC: A large-scale research resource
Authors
Emily Maguire, Jincy Winston, Sarah H Ellwood, Rachel O'Donoghue, Bethany Shaw, Atahualpa Castillo Morales, Samuel Keat, Alexandra Evans, Rachel Marshall, Lauren Luckcuck, Laura Brown, Elisa Salis, Ganna Leonenko, Nicola Denning, EADB consortium, Nicholas D Allen, Valentina Escott-Price, Caleb Webber, Philip R Taylor, Rebecca Sims, Sally A Cowley, Julie Williams, Sarah M Carpanini, Hazel Hall-Roberts
Modeling common Alzheimer's disease with high and low polygenic risk in human iPSC: A large-scale research resource

Williams Lab

Explore the work of the Williams Lab, studying the genetics of Alzheimer's disease

Williams Lab