Drake Williams, DDS, PhD

Dr. Drake Williams is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Diagnostic and Biological Sciences and heads the Laboratory of Oral Mucosal Immunity. He received a DDS degree from the UCLA School of Dentistry in 2017 and a PhD in Oral Biology from the UCLA School of Dentistry where he studied the role of host inflammation and the commensal microbiota in the pathogenesis of medication related to osteonecrosis of the jaw. He joined the intramural program at NIDCR as a clinical research fellow in July 2019 where he used systems biology to understand barrier tissue immunity and developed tools to understand host-microbe interactions at the oral barrier. He joined the faculty at University of Minnesota in September 2024. When he’s not doing research, he enjoys spending time with his wife and sons.

The relationship between the host and microbiota in barrier mucosal tissues is delicate and requires communication between microbes and host cells to initiate, adapt, and terminate responses in a manner that protects the host from infection and allows beneficial microbes to survive and thrive. Our lab is interested in understanding what governs host-microbe communication in health and disease at the oral barrier. Additionally, we are interested in understanding the unique features of immune cells in the oral mucosa that contribute to homeostasis and disease pathogenesis.

Williams DW, Greenwell-Wild T, Brenchley L, Dutzan N, Overmiller A, Sawaya AP, Webb S, Martin D; NIDCD/NIDCR Genomics and Computational Biology Core; Hajishengallis G, Divaris K, Morasso M, Haniffa M, Moutsopoulos NM. Human oral mucosa cell atlas reveals a stromal-neutrophil axis regulating tissue immunity. Cell. 2021 Jul 22;184(15):4090-4104.e15. doi: 10.1016/j.cell.2021.05.013.

Kim TS, Ikeuchi T, Theofilou VI, Williams DW, Greenwell-Wild T, June A, Adade EE, Li L, Abusleme L, Dutzan N, Yuan Y, Brenchley L, Bouladoux N, Sakamachi Y; NIDCD/NIDCR Genomics and Computational Biology Core; Palmer RJ Jr, Iglesias-Bartolome R, Trinchieri G, Garantziotis S, Belkaid Y, Valm AM, Diaz PI, Holland SM, Moutsopoulos NM. Epithelial-derived interleukin-23 promotes oral mucosal immunopathology. Immunity. 2024 Apr 9;57(4):859-875.e11. doi: 10.1016/j.immuni.2024.02.020.

Kim TS, Silva LM, Theofilou VI, Greenwell-Wild T, Li L, Williams DW, Ikeuchi T, Brenchley L; NIDCD/NIDCR Genomics and Computational Biology Core; Bugge TH, Diaz PI, Kaplan MJ, Carmona-Rivera C, Moutsopoulos NM. Neutrophil extracellular traps and extracellular histones potentiate IL-17 inflammation in periodontitis. J Exp Med. 2023 Sep 4;220(9):e20221751. doi: 10.1084/jem.20221751.

Break TJ, Oikonomou V, Dutzan N, Desai JV, Swidergall M, Freiwald T, Chauss D, Harrison OJ, Alejo J, Williams DW, Pittaluga S, Lee CR, Bouladoux N, Swamydas M, Hoffman KW, Greenwell-Wild T, Bruno VM, Rosen LB, Lwin W, Renteria A, Pontejo SM, Shannon JP, Myles IA, Olbrich P, Ferré EMN, Schmitt M, Martin D; Genomics and Computational Biology Core; Barber DL, Solis NV, Notarangelo LD, Serreze DV, Matsumoto M, Hickman HD, Murphy PM, Anderson MS, Lim JK, Holland SM, Filler SG, Afzali B, Belkaid Y, Moutsopoulos NM, Lionakis MS. Aberrant type 1 immunity drives susceptibility to mucosal fungal infections. Science. 2021 Jan 15;371(6526):eaay5731. doi: 10.1126/science.aay5731.

Pronovost GN, Yu KB, Coley-O'Rourke EJL, Telang SS, Chen AS, Vuong HE, Williams DW, Chandra A, Rendon TK, Paramo J, Kim RH, Hsiao EY. The maternal microbiome promotes placental development in mice. Sci Adv. 2023 Oct 6;9(40):eadk1887. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adk1887.

Vuong HE, Pronovost GN, Williams DW, Coley EJL, Siegler EL, Qiu A, Kazantsev M, Wilson CJ, Rendon T, Hsiao EY. The maternal microbiome modulates fetal neurodevelopment in mice. Nature. 2020 Oct;586(7828):281-286. doi: 10.1038/s41586-020-2745-3.

T cell response in Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans-associated periodontal disease
Principal Investigator: Drake Williams
Sponsoring Organization: NIDCR/NIH
Award Dates: 2023-2030