Prof Deborah Williamson

Dean of Medicine & Head of School

Professor of Medicine

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
A comparison of a single agar plate versus a bi-plate for culturing Neisseria gonorrhoeae
Le, M. T., Fairley, C. K., Maddaford, K., De Petra, V., Williamson, D., Chow, E. P. F. & Phillips, T. R., 15 Jun 2026, In: Sexual health. 23, 3, SH25096.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
An oropharyngeal gonorrhoea controlled human infection model: a provisional protocol using a novel Neisseria gonorrhoeae challenge strain
Williams, E., Pollock, G. L., Price, D. J., Crocker-Buque, T., de Kretser, D., Jamrozik, E., Osowicki, J., Pasricha, S., Azzato, F., Steer, A., Groom, J. R., Hill, D. L., Roberts, J. A., Huston, W. M., Seib, K. L., Fairley, C. K., Chow, E. P., Chen, M. Y., Hocking, J. S. & Williamson, D. A. & 1 others, McCarthy, J. S., 12 Feb 2026, In: Wellcome Open Research. 10, p. 1-26 26 p., 636.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Community perceptions regarding use of HIV molecular epidemiology for public health in Victoria, Australia: qualitative findings
Brophy, J. E., Haining, C. M., Hocking, J. S., Keane, R., Cogle, A., Taiaroa, G., Machon, K., Hamlet, J., Higgins, N., Williams, E., Prestedge, J., Chibo, D., Wright, E. J., Williamson, D. A., Lewin, S. R. & Keogh, L. A., 12 May 2026, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Journal of Bioethical Inquiry. p. 1-14 14 p.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
CRISPR-Cas-based diagnostics for point-of-care detection of sexually transmitted infections: a laboratory development and evaluation study
Low, S. J., O'Neill, M. T., Fernando, J. A., Kerry, W. J., Prestedge, J., Wild, N., Chahal, S., Pollock, G. L., Papadakis, G., Krysiak, M., Williams, E., Azzato, F., Tran, T., Fairley, C., Bradshaw, C., Chen, M. Y., Lim, C. K., Williamson, D. A. & Pasricha, S., 9 Apr 2026, In: The Lancet Microbe. 7, 4, 12 p., 101289.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Exploring community and expert perceptions of the acceptability of an oropharyngeal gonorrhoea controlled human infection model in Australia
Williams, E., Moulton, J. E., Jamrozik, E., Prestedge, J., Ruth, S., Fairley, C. K., Chen, M. Y., Williamson, D. A., McCarthy, J. S., Hocking, J. S. & Keogh, L., 12 Jan 2026, In: Scientific Reports. 16, p. 1-13 13 p., 1362.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
Healthcare professionals' perspectives on point-of-care testing quality and access in Australian healthcare services: a qualitative study
Prestedge, J., El-Murr, A. & Williamson, D. A., 1 Jun 2026, In: BMJ Open. 16, 6, e115010.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open access
High‐dimensional multiomics reveals perturbations to IL ‐6/ IL ‐ 6R axis and RUNX3 in CD4 + T cells during third‐trimester pregnancy
Habel, J. R., Nguyen, T. H. O., de Alwis, N., Allen, E. K., Li, S., Skinner, M. J., Juno, J. A., Kent, S. J., Bond, K., Williamson, D. A., Lappas, M., Hannan, N. J., Walker, S., Schroeder, J., Crawford, J. C., Thomas, P. G., Kedzierska, K. & Rowntree, L. C., 28 Apr 2026, In: Clinical and Translational Immunology. 15, 5, p. 1-12 12 p., e70096.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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., 11 Dec 2025, In: Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 38, 4, e00236-24.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
Open access
Bringing tuberculosis genomics to the clinic: development and validation of a comprehensive pipeline to predict antimicrobial susceptibility from genomic data, accredited to ISO standards
Horan, K. A., Viberg, L., Ballard, S. A., Globan, M., Wirth, W., Bond, K., Webb, J. R., Dorji, T., Williamson, D. A., Sait, M. L., Tay, E. L., Denholm, J. T., Howden, B. P., Seemann, T. & Sherry, N. L., Dec 2025, In: The Lancet Digital Health. 7, 12, p. 1-13 13 p., 100939.
Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

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