Prof Deborah Williamson

Dean of Medicine & Head of School

Professor of Medicine

Researcher profile

Email
daw28@st-andrews.ac.uk

 

Research areas

Professor Williamson is Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Head of the School of Medicine. She has held strategic leadership roles in academia and public health agencies across Australia, New Zealand, and the UK. She is a clinician-scientist with a global network of collaborators and over 300 journal publications. Her work has attracted significant research funding and has been recognised with awards such as the L'Oreal-UNESCO Women in Science Fellowship.

Her research focuses on the development and application of innovative technologies, particularly genomics, to address infectious diseases. Professor Williamson has a strong clinical and public health background in microbiology and virology and remains actively engaged in clinical and public health service.

Returning to Scotland in 2024, Professor Williamson joined the University of St Andrews, combining her leadership experience with a commitment to advancing medical education and research. As Dean of Medicine, she brings a wealth of leadership experience, strategic vision, and a deep commitment to improving the health and well-being of populations, both locally and globally.

PhD supervision

  • Ali Akbari
  • Muge Cevik
  • Sally Forrest
  • Brenda Nakazibwe
  • Theodora Olanrewaju

Selected publications

  • Open access

    Alternative treponemal serology assays for diagnosis and confirmation of syphilis in a diagnostic laboratory: a retrospective evaluation of four agglutination assays and one ELISA

    Williams, E., Karapanagiotidis, T., Nicholson, S., Toma, H., Vo, K. L., Douros, C., Azzato, F., Edler, P., Graham, M., Towns, J. M., Chen, M. Y., Lim, C. K. & Williamson, D. A., 9 May 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Ahead Print, p. 1-14 14 p., e0176824.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • A review of post-exposure strategies for high-consequence viral pathogens in the laboratory

    Butel-Simoes, G., Moso, M. A., Ramachandran, P., Graham, M., Williamson, D. A. & Lim, C. K., 29 Aug 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Clinical Microbiology Reviews. Online First, e00236-24.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review

  • Open access

    Communicable diseases genomics network: promoting and harmonising pathogen genomics implementation for public health in Australia

    Lin, C., Jennison, A. V., Leong, L. E. X., Speers, D. J., Meumann, E. M., Cooley, L., Kennedy, K., Arnott, A., Winter, D., Rawlinson, W., Robson, J., Harris, P., Donald, A., Seemann, T., Ballard, S. A., Kirk, M., Sintchenko, V., Williamson, D. A., Howden, B. P. & Communicable Diseases Genomics Network (Australia and New Zealand), Oct 2025, In: The Lancet Regional Health. Western Pacific. 63, p. 1-7 7 p., 101692.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Open access

    Conference report: The second bacterial genome sequencing Pan-European Network conference

    Wei, K. C., Purushothaman, S., Azzato, F., Baker, K. S., Birkeland, K. W., Brunet, S., Campos, J., Connor, T. R., Giske, C. G., Greub, G., Hallbäck, E. T., Harmsen, D., Hodcroft, E. B., Holden, M. T. G., Jacob, J., Kahles, A., Lagos, A. C., Lipworth, S., Loo, E. & Miotto, P. & 15 others, Neher, R. A., Neves, A., Ready, D., Roloff, T., Rooney, A., Rousseau, E., Schrenzel, J., Sundqvist, M., Viegas, S., Wegner, F., Aamot, H. V., Niemann, S., Williamson, D. A., Mölling, P. & Egli, A., 23 Oct 2025, In: Microbes and Infection. 27, 7, p. 1-8 8 p., 105557.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Open access

    Distinct adaptation and epidemiological success of different genotypes within Salmonella enterica serovar Dublin

    Sia, C. M., Ambrose, R. L., Valcanis, M., Andersson, P., Ballard, S. A., Howden, B. P., Williamson, D. A., Pearson, J. S. & Ingle, D. J., 25 Jun 2025, In: eLife. 13, p. 1-29 29 p., RP102253.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Open access

    Dysregulated inflammation in solid tumor malignancy patients shapes polyfunctional antibody responses to COVID-19 vaccination

    Purcell, R. A., Koutsakos, M., Kedzierski, L., Allen, L. F., Lloyd Williams, O. H., Wang, J.-W. D., Cavic, G., Wheatley, A. K., Lee, W. S., Wines, B. D., Mark Hogarth, P., Eriksson, E. M., Mueller, I., Bond, K. A., Williamson, D. A., Trevillyan, J. M., Trubiano, J. A., Nguyen, T. H. O., Ramanathan, P. & Rogerson, S. J. & 13 others, Arnold, K. B., Subbarao, K., Lee, A., Hudson, A. L., Yuile, A., Wheeler, H. R., Kent, S. J., Selva, K. J., Mahanty, S., Kedzierska, K., Fahrer, A. M., Kanjanapan, Y. & Chung, A. W., 6 Oct 2025, In: npj Vaccines. 10, p. 1-15 15 p., 217.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Open access

    Establishing quality assurance for COVID-19 antigen tests in the Indo Pacific Region: a multi-site implementation study

    Prestedge, J., Ninan, M., Phoeung, C. L., Seang, K., Young, G., Khamphaphongphane, B., Norchaleun, B., Toliman, P. J., Cabuang, L., Saphonn, V., Markby, J., Ridley, K., Vallely, A., Cunningham, P. & Williamson, D. A., Mar 2025, In: Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease. 111, 3, p. 1-8 8 p., 116677.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Open access

    Field evaluation of a rapid antigen test for mpox in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda: a multicentre, prospective, diagnostic accuracy study

    Bakamutumaho, B., Mwenebitu, D. L., Muttamba, W., Ampeire, I., Bosa, H. K., Bahizire, E., Bisimwa, B. C., Obuku, A., Wayengera, M., Sandeman, A., Holden, M. T. G., Katoto, P. D. M. C., Kirenga, B., Williamson, D. A. & Sabiiti, W., 12 Nov 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Lancet Infectious Diseases. In Press, p. 1-10 10 p.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Open access

    Global diversity and evolution of Salmonella enterica serovar Panama: a genomic epidemiology study

    Pulford, C. V., Perez-Sepulveda, B. M., Ingle, D. J., Bengtsson, R. J., Bennett, R. J., Rodwell, E. V., Pardos de la Gandara, M., Chong, C. E., De Silva, P. M., Ravel, M., Guibert, V., Njamkepo, E., Hall, N., Chattaway, M. A., Howden, B. P., Williamson, D. A., Hinton, J. C. D., Weill, F.-X. & Baker, K. S., Sept 2025, In: The Lancet Microbe. 6, 9, p. 1-11 11 p., 101150.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

  • Open access

    HLA-B*15:01-positive severe COVID-19 patients lack CD8+ T cell pools with highly expanded public clonotypes

    Rowntree, L. C., Allen, L. F., Hagen, R. R., McQuilten, H. A., Quadeer, A. A., Chaurasia, P., Kaewpreedee, P., Lee, K. W. K., Cohen, C. A., Petersen, J., Littler, D. R., Habel, J. R., Zhang, W., Cheng, S. M. S., Chan, K. K. P., Kwok, J. S. Y., Leung, K. S. M., Wu, J. T., Lee, C.-K. & Davies, J. & 40 others, Pannaraj, P. S., Kaity Allen, E., Thomas, P. G., Tosif, S., Crawford, N. W., Lappas, M., Thevarajan, I., Lewin, S. R., Kent, S. J., Juno, J. A., Bond, K. A., Williamson, D. A., Holmes, N. E., Smibert, O. C., Gordon, C. L., Trubiano, J. A., Kotsimbos, T. C., Cheng, A. C., Efstathiou, C., Turtle, L., Thwaites, R. S., Brightling, C. E., PHOSP-COVID Collaborative Group, Rossjohn, J., McKay, M. R., Tian, J., Liu, W. J., Gao, G. F., Xu, J., Sonehara, K., Ishii, K. J., Namkoong, H., Okada, Y., Peiris, M., Hui, D. S. C., Poon, L. L. M., Doherty, P. C., Nguyen, T. H. O., Valkenberg, S. A. & Kedzierska, K., 9 Sept 2025, In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 122, 36, p. 1-10 10 p., e2503145122.

    Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

 

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