About
A brief description of who you are and what you do.
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Write about yourself in the third person. Aim for 100 to 150 words covering the main points about who you are and what you currently do. Clear, simple language is best. You can include specialist or technical terms.
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Research
Research interests
- Molecular processes underpinning neurodegenerative disease
- Structure and function of cell membranes
- Development and application of solid-state NMR and other biophysical techniques for the analysis of biological systems
Current research
Williamson's groups research focusses on the development and application of solid-state NMR to investigate the molecular processes that underpin health and disease. Currently the groups research is focussed on two key areas:
1) Determining how the cellular environment influences the formation of the protein fibrils associated with neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. These studies seek to understand how the cellular environment influences the conformation of the fibrils and how this impacts the onset and development of disease.
2) Investigate the structure and function of the cell membranes, to understand how the complex interactions between the lipid bilayer and integral membrane proteins can influence the transport of information and materials into the cell. These studies are providing insights into the modes of action of antiseptics and aiding in the identification of new chemistries to aid the uptake and targeting of drugs.
These studies have driven the development and application of novel solid-state NMR methodologies. Employing a combination of ultra-high fields, hyperpolarization techniques and fast magic angle spinning we have developed techniques that permit the detection of naturally occuring NMR sensitive isotopes in biological materials and the in-vivo analysis of protein conformation.
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Research groups
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Research interests
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Current research
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Research projects
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Publications
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Supervision
Current PhD Students
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Teaching
Philip's teaching interests lie in the areas of biochemistry, structural biology and chemistry. He currently teaches on the following modules:
- BIOL1024: Fundamentals of Biochemistry
- BIOL1026/28: Chemistry of Life
- BIOL1030: How to Think Like a Scientist
- BIOL2056: Cell Biology
- BIOL2012: Exploring Proteins
- BIOL3034: Laboratory Project
- BIOL6013: Advanced Lab Project
And teaches and coordinates on:
- BIOL3017/6033: Molecular and Structural Basis of Disease
- BIOL3018: Molecular Pharmacology
- BIOL6093: Skills in Structural Biology
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Courses and modules
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External roles and responsibilities
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Biography
Dr Philip Williamson is Professor In Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Southampton. Philip obtained his BSc in Biochemistry from the St Hugh’s College at the University of Oxford in 1995. He then undertook his D.Phil in the laboratory of Prof. Anthony Watts developing solid-state NMR methods to investigate receptor/ligand interactions, a collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline. In 2000 he moved to the lab of Prof. Beat Meier in Department at Physical Chemistry at the ETH Zürich as a Postdoctoral Fellow, developing new solid-state NMR methods for the structural and dynamic analysis of biomolecules. Following a brief spell with the CNRS, in 2007 he moved to the University of Southampton as a Wellcome Trust Career Development Fellow where his group now develop and apply solid-state NMR methods to the molecular processes underpinning health and disease. He was made appointed Lecturer in 2011, Associate Professor in 2019 and Professor in 2023.
Philip is a member of Facility Executive for the UK’s National Highfield Solid-State NMR Facility, and a member of the Advisory Committee for the Medical Research Council's Biomedical NMR Centre at the Crick Institute. He is a member of the Editorial Board of Frontier in Structural Biology and Nature Scientific Reports.
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Prizes
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