My Cardiff

Professor Julie Williams

Professor Julie Williams, Professor of Psychological Medicine at the School of Medicine reveals how her work at the University has led to novel discoveries…

I started my academic career at the School of Medicine 16 years ago. Since then I’ve progressed from Research Fellow to Professor and have had the privilege of being involved in, and leading research programmes that have made a difference in the world of psychiatric genetics.

Throughout my career at Cardiff, I’ve been successful in securing a number of high profile research grants to identify causes of Alzheimer’s disease and Developmental Dyslexia.

For me, these areas are fascinating and with my colleagues we work hard to push the boundaries of our understanding to further medical progress.

One of the successes in my time at the University was in 2005, with the discovery of KIAA0319 as a risk gene for dyslexia, implicating neuronal migration in the development of this disorder.

In my most recent project, I’m heading a team undertaking the largest ever genetic study of Alzheimer’s involving over 16,000 subjects, searching for genes that not only predispose people to Alzheimer’s, but also genes which protect against disease development.

The University and my academic colleagues have supported my research at many levels and I have benefited from being part of what is now one of the leading centres for psychiatric genetic research in the world.