Diane Williams

Associate Professor, Teaching Stream; Associate Director, Undergraduate Studies
Diane Williams

Contact information

Office: LHN 1723

Phone: 519-888-4567, ext. 46234

Email: diane.williams@uwaterloo.ca

Research interests

Cellular and molecular biology of the inner ear, age-related hearing loss and prevention, neuroprotection, biocomplexity, systems approaches to studying health and disease.

Teaching interests

  • Biological determinants of health
  • Development, aging, and health
  • Cancer biology, cell and molecular biology
  • Misconceptions about health, disease, and disease risks
  • Problem-based learning
  • Student engagement
  • Blended and active learning approaches
  • Scientific communication

Education

BS Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

PhD Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology, Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Postdoctoral Fellowship in Auditory Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University

Selected publications

Zhao H, Williams DE, Shin JB, Brügger B, Gillespie PG.  Large Membrane Domains in Hair Bundles Specify Spatially Constricted Radixin Activation.  J Neurosci. 2012 Mar 28;32(13):4600-9.

Hill JK, Williams DE, LeMasurier M, Dumont RA, Strehler EE, Gillespie PG. Splice-site A choice targets plasma-membrane Ca2+-ATPase isoform 2 to hair bundles. J Neurosci. 2006 Jun 7;26(23):6172-80.       

Ronan D, Gillespie P.   Metazoan mechanotransduction mystery finally solved.  Nat Neurosci. 2005 Jan;8(1):7-8. Review.

Ronan D.E., Dix A.K., Shah P., Braida L.D.  Integration across frequency bands for consonant identification.  J Acoust Soc Am. 2004 Sep;116(3):1749-62.