FAMU scientist makes history with coveted lecture appointment

Henry Neal Williams will address bacteria research, diversifying the field of science for prestigious society

Byron Dobson, Democrat senior writer

Henry Neal Williams’s interest in science was first piqued as a ninth-grade student in his hometown of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. That was followed by another teacher’s interest in him the next year, helping to create a path that would lead to North Carolina A&T University, where Williams earned a degree in biology.

FAMU professor Henry Neal Williams examines bioreactor growth chamber in Molecular Lab in School of the Environment at FAMU.

Today, Williams is an internationally known microbiologist, specializing in microbial ecology and infection control in dentistry. After spending a 37-year-career at the University of Maryland-Baltimore that took him from a laboratory scientist post to a doctorate in microbiology and ultimately, a post as assistant vice president for research, he is currently a professor and researcher at Florida A&M University’s School of the Environment.

Williams made history last month when he was named an American Society for Microbiology Distinguished Lecturer. It makes FAMU the first historically black college or university to have a full-time faculty member included in the coveted ranks. The 2016-2018 class includes scientists from Smith College, Boston University’s School of Medicine, Ohio State University, the University of Texas, and others.

“Distinguished lecturers are chosen because of their prominence in their field of research, and are provided the opportunity lecture nationally, and interact with students about their research at national and branch conferences,” FAMU Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Marcella David said. “The lecture series will provide a national platform for others to get to know the quality of teaching and research found in our FAMU faculty.”

Williams, who has had several papers published, has been a member of the society for 40 years.

During his two-year-term, Williams will be called upon to lecture among colleagues on his research on a group of predatory bacteria and most importantly his life story and his success in attracting more minorities to the field of research science.

“This gives me a great audience to share my story; that’s a great feeling,” Williams said. “FAMU is the only HBCU on the list when you look at the total list over the years. I always knew before my professional career was over, I wanted to go (teach) at an HBCU. I am a product of an HBCU. When the opportunity came to come to FAMU, my goal was to be able to contribute to the research enterprise at the university and its advancement.”

Williams earned his Ph.D. in 1979 and began work as the American Society for Microbiology Congressional Science Fellow in Congress under former U.S. Sen. Charles McC. Mathias of Maryland. He returned to the UMB Dental School as an assistant professor of microbiology, and later became assistant vice president for research.

Williams’s research expertise is in the study of predatory bacteria, or the group, Bdellovibrio, which he describes as “different from any other bacteria that we know of, in that they attack and kill certain other bacteria.”

“The good thing is that they don’t harm us,” he said, sitting in a room inside the Frederick S. Humphries Science Research Center. “The importance is they help to control the population of other bacteria in the environment. But when they were first discovered that they could kill other bacteria, the idea came, ‘can they possibly have use to treat certain infectious diseases’, “ Williams said.

His research has focused on how this group of bacteria can control others, when they do it and under what conditions, he said.

Throughout his career, Williams has written several book chapters and served as a reviewer for scientific journals and of grant applications for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other federal agencies and private organizations.

He estimates that he has received about $5 million in research grants over 12 years at FAMU. He’s optimistic of receiving a National Science Foundation grant of $300,000 to continue his research.

Throughout his career, he has earned the respect of researchers around the world.

Edouard Jurkevitch, professor of plant sciences at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel and a colleague of Williams’s, has said, “you cannot discuss the marine Bdellovibrio and like organisms without mentioning the work of Henry Williams.”

John A. Baross, Ph.D., professor of oceanography at the University of Washington, has served on an NSF committee with Williams and has followed his research for 30 years.

“Henry is a special scientist, special teacher and special person,” Baross said in a release. “I have come to admire his intellect, delight in his sense of humor, in particular, respect his sage advice and opinions.”

FAMU professor Henry Neal Williams has been named Distinguished American Society for Microbiology Lecturer

Williams said these predatory bacteria he studies are members of the microbial world, and are relatively small in numbers.

Because of that, they previously were “relatively ignored” by major science researchers, but now are major research topics by national foundations.

“So, as a group, they face the same barriers as minorities in the human population,” he said. “They have largely been discounted because their numbers are so small; ‘they couldn’t possibly be doing anything important, or valuable or significant.

“One of my big goals has been to get other scientists to recognize they play an important role.”

He remains driven in his quest to increase the number of black and other minority scientists in the research arena, and he see his appointment as helping to share their value with his peers.

“So few black scientists get these kinds of opportunities,” said. “It’s a chance for me to be a role model and open people’s minds to the value of having African Americans, Hispanics, Pacific islanders, and others represented. Then in turn, they will hopefully recruit more of these types of students.”

Contact senior writer Byron Dobson at bdobson@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @byrondobson.