Professor Bryan Williams

Director, Monash Institute of Medical Research

Professor Bryan Williams was appointed as the Director of the Monash Institute of Medical Research (MIMR) from January 1 2006 and also heads up the Centre for Cancer Research at MIMR.

Prior to this appointment, Professor Williams was the Chairman of the Department of Cancer Biology at the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, a position he had held since 1991.  He was also an Associate Director of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Cleveland. 

Professor Williams has a distinguished history in cancer research. He has previously worked in New Zealand, England, Canada and America, specialising in the molecular biology of tumour suppression, and focusing on the role tumour suppressor genes may play in regulating cell growth, maturation and apoptosis (programmed cell death). He is internationally recognised for his contributions to research on Wilms Tumour, a cancer of the kidney that primarily affects children, for studies on protein kinase R, an important cellular signalling molecule and for work on innate immunity.