P. “Mickey” Williams, Ph.D.

Director, Molecular Characterization Laboratory, Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research

Dr. Mickey Williams has been active in the use of molecular technologies for drug-target discovery. During his thirteen years at Genentech, he developed novel assays to support clinical studies and discover new therapeutic targets. He was the author of the first quantitative “real-time” PCR papers and contributed to the development of this powerful technology. Prior to joining FNLCR in 2010, he was a senior research group leader at Roche Molecular Diagnostics. While at Roche, he led the research effort and managed two large multi-national clinical assay studies: The MILE Study (microarray innovations in leukemia), and a collaboration with the LLMPP (leukemia and lymphoma molecular profiling project). He also initiated 2 projects that have subsequently been approved by the FDA as IVD tests. He has published over 50 manuscripts and is an inventor on over 30 issued U.S. Patents. Mickey received his Ph.D. from the University of Virginia.