John T. Williams, Ph.D.

  • Professor, Vollum Institute
  • Senior Scientist, Vollum Institute
  • Neuroscience Graduate Program, School of Medicine
  • Program in Molecular and Cellular Biosciences, School of Medicine

Biography

After earning his Ph.D. in Pharmacology from Loyola University in 1979, John Williams worked as a research scientist at the Max-Planck Institute in Munich and at Loyola University School of Medicine. He then spent five years as a research scientist in Biological Sciences at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1987, he became an assistant scientist at the Vollum Institute and rose to the position of senior scientist in 1996. He holds a concurrent appointment in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in the School of Medicine.

Williams and colleagues investigate the early events that lead to the development of tolerance to opioids. Opioids such as morphine are important therapeutic compounds used for the management of pain, but the primary problem with their use is the development of tolerance, where higher doses are required to achieve the same effect. By focusing on the long-term effects of morphine and cocaine on synaptic transmission in the reward centers of the brain—dopamine cells of the ventral tegmental area and GABA cells of the nucleus accumbens—the lab hopes to identify the cellular basis for drug addiction.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • B.S., 1972, St. Lawrence University
    • M.A., 1975, State University of New York, Potsdam
    • Ph.D., 1979, Loyola University

Areas of interest

  • opiate desensitization and tolerance
  • receptor trafficking
  • dendrodendritic transmission

Publications

Publications

  • Improved green and red GRAB sensors for monitoring dopaminergic activity in vivo

    Nature Methods
    1. Yizhou Zhuo
    2. Bin Luo
    3. Xinyang Yi
    4. Hui Dong
    5. Xiaolei Miao
    6. Jinxia Wan
    7. John T. Williams
    8. Malcolm G. Campbell
    9. Ruyi Cai
    10. Tongrui Qian
    11. Fengling Li
    12. Sophia J. Weber
    13. Lei Wang
    14. Bozhi Li
    15. Yu Wei
    16. Guochuan Li
    17. Huan Wang
    18. Yu Zheng
    19. Yulin Zhao
    20. Marina E. Wolf
    21. Yingjie Zhu
    22. Mitsuko Watabe-Uchida
    23. Yulong Li
  • Synaptotagmin-7 Counteracts Short-Term Depression during Phasic Dopamine Release

    eNeuro
    1. Joseph J. Lebowitz
    2. Sarah A. Kissiwaa
    3. Kim A. Engeln
    4. Anna M. Bowman
    5. John T. Williams
    6. Skyler L. Jackman
  • Gait Abnormalities and Aberrant D2 Receptor Expression and Signaling in Mice Carrying the Human Pathogenic Mutation DRD2I212F

    Molecular pharmacology
    1. Dayana Rodriguez-Contreras
    2. Sheng Gong
    3. Joseph J. Lebowitz
    4. Lev M. Fedorov
    5. Naeem Asad
    6. Timothy M. Dore
    7. Tamara J. Phillips
    8. Christopher P. Ford
    9. John T. Williams
    10. Kim A. Neve
  • Synaptotagmin-1 is a Ca2+ sensor for somatodendritic dopamine release

    Cell Reports
    1. Joseph J. Lebowitz
    2. Aditi Banerjee
    3. Claire Qiao
    4. James R. Bunzow
    5. John T. Williams
    6. Pascal S. Kaeser
  • Agonist-Specific Regulation of G Protein-Coupled Receptors after Chronic Opioid Treatment

    Molecular pharmacology
    1. Sweta Adhikary
    2. Omar Koita
    3. Joseph J. Lebowitz
    4. William T. Birdsong
    5. John T. Williams
  • Co-activation of GPCRs facilitate GIRK-dependent current

    Journal of Physiology
    1. Alec F. Condon
    2. Naeem Asad
    3. Timothy M. Dore
    4. John T. Williams
  • Subcellular localization of D2 receptors in the murine substantia nigra

    Brain Structure and Function
    1. Joseph J. Lebowitz
    2. Mason Trinkle
    3. James R. Bunzow
    4. Judith Joyce Balcita-Pedicino
    5. Savas Hetelekides
    6. Brooks Robinson
    7. Santiago De La Torre
    8. Sue A. Aicher
    9. Susan R. Sesack
    10. John T. Williams
  • A Gain-of-Function Variant in Dopamine D2 Receptor and Progressive Chorea and Dystonia Phenotype

    Movement Disorders
    1. Marlous C.M. van der Weijden
    2. Dayana Rodriguez-Contreras
    3. Cathérine C.S. Delnooz
    4. Brooks G. Robinson
    5. Alec F. Condon
    6. Michelle L. Kielhold
    7. Gilles N. Stormezand
    8. Kai Yu Ma
    9. Claudia Dufke
    10. John T. Williams
    11. Kim A. Neve
    12. Marina A.J. Tijssen
    13. Dineke S. Verbeek
  • Signaling-Biased and Constitutively Active Dopamine D2 Receptor Variant

    ACS Chemical Neuroscience
    1. Dayana Rodriguez-Contreras
    2. Alec F. Condon
    3. David C. Buck
    4. Naeem Asad
    5. Timothy M. Dore
    6. Dineke S. Verbeek
    7. Marina A.J. Tijssen
    8. Ujwal Shinde
    9. John T. Williams
    10. Kim A. Neve
  • The residence of synaptically released dopamine on D2 autoreceptors

    Cell Reports
    1. Alec F. Condon
    2. Brooks G. Robinson
    3. Naeem Asad
    4. Timothy M. Dore
    5. Lin Tian
    6. John T. Williams
  • Chronic treatment with morphine disrupts acute kinase-dependent desensitization of GPCRs

    Molecular pharmacology
    1. Emily R. Leff
    2. Seksiri Arttamangkul
    3. John T. Williams
  • Photoactivatable Dopamine and Sulpiride to Explore the Function of Dopaminergic Neurons and Circuits

    ACS Chemical Neuroscience
    1. Naeem Asad
    2. Duncan E. Mclain
    3. Alec F. Condon
    4. Sangram Gore
    5. Shahienaz E. Hampton
    6. Sauparnika Vijay
    7. John T. Williams
    8. Timothy M. Dore
  • Imaging neuromodulators with high spatiotemporal resolution using genetically encoded indicators

    Nature protocols
    1. Tommaso Patriarchi
    2. Jounhong Ryan Cho
    3. Katharina Merten
    4. Aaron Marley
    5. Gerard Joey Broussard
    6. Ruqiang Liang
    7. John Williams
    8. Axel Nimmerjahn
    9. Mark von Zastrow
    10. Viviana Gradinaru
    11. Lin Tian
  • Phosphorylation-deficient G-protein-biased μ-opioid receptors improve analgesia and diminish tolerance but worsen opioid side effects

    Nature communications
    1. A. Kliewer
    2. F. Schmiedel
    3. S. Sianati
    4. A. Bailey
    5. J. T. Bateman
    6. E. S. Levitt
    7. J. T. Williams
    8. M. J. Christie
    9. S. Schulz
  • RIM is essential for stimulated but not spontaneous somatodendritic dopamine release in the midbrain

    eLife
    1. Brooks G. Robinson
    2. Xintong Cai
    3. Jiexin Wang
    4. James R. Bunzow
    5. John T. Williams
    6. Pascal S. Kaeser
  • Separation of acute desensitization and long-term tolerance of m-opioid receptors is determined by the degree of C-terminal phosphorylation

    Molecular pharmacology
    1. Seksiri Arttamangkul
    2. Emily R. Leff
    3. Omar Koita
    4. William T. Birdsong
    5. John T. Williams
  • Visualizing endogenous opioid receptors in living neurons using ligand-directed chemistry

    eLife
    1. Seksiri Arttamangkul
    2. Andrew Plazek
    3. Emily J. Platt
    4. Haihong Jin
    5. Thomas F. Murray
    6. William T. Birdsong
    7. Kenner C. Rice
    8. David L. Farrens
    9. John T. Williams
  • Cellular tolerance at the µ-opioid receptor is phosphorylation dependent

    eLife
    1. Seksiri Arttamangkul
    2. Daniel A. Heinz
    3. James R. Bunzow
    4. Xianqiang Song
    5. John T. Williams
  • Desensitization and tolerance of Mu opioid receptors on pontine kölliker-fuse neurons

    Molecular pharmacology
    1. Erica S. Levitt
    2. John T. Williams
  • Ultrafast neuronal imaging of dopamine dynamics with designed genetically encoded sensors

    Science
    1. Tommaso Patriarchi
    2. Jounhong Ryan Cho
    3. Katharina Merten
    4. Mark W. Howe
    5. Aaron Marley
    6. Wei Hong Xiong
    7. Robert W. Folk
    8. Gerard Joey Broussard
    9. Ruqiang Liang
    10. Min Jee Jang
    11. Haining Zhong
    12. Daniel Dombeck
    13. Mark von Zastrow
    14. Axel Nimmerjahn
    15. Viviana Gradinaru
    16. John T. Williams
    17. Lin Tian
  • Cholinergic interneurons underlie spontaneous dopamine release in nucleus accumbens

    Journal of Neuroscience
    1. Jordan T. Yorgason
    2. Douglas M. Zeppenfeld
    3. John T. Williams
  • Cocaine-induced adaptation of dopamine D2S, but not D2L autoreceptors

    eLife
    1. Brooks G. Robinson
    2. Alec F. Condon
    3. Daniela Radl
    4. Emiliana Borrelli
    5. John T. Williams
    6. Kim A. Neve
  • Desensitized D2 autoreceptors are resistant to trafficking

    Scientific Reports
    1. Brooks G. Robinson
    2. James R. Bunzow
    3. Jonathan B. Grimm
    4. Luke D. Lavis
    5. Joshua T. Dudman
    6. Jennifer Brown
    7. Kim A. Neve
    8. John T. Williams
  • Presynaptic gain control by endogenous cotransmission of dopamine and GABA in the olfactory bulb

    Journal of neurophysiology
    1. Christopher E. Vaaga
    2. Jordan T. Yorgason
    3. John T. Williams
    4. Gary L. Westbrook
  • Two-color, one-photon uncaging of glutamate and GABA

    PloS one
    1. Stefan Passlick
    2. Paul F. Kramer
    3. Matthew T. Richers
    4. John T. Williams
    5. Graham C.R. Ellis-Davies
  • Calcium Release from Stores Inhibits GIRK

    Cell Reports
    1. Paul F. Kramer
    2. John T. Williams
  • Agonist binding and desensitization of the μ-opioid receptor is modulated by phosphorylation of the C-terminal tail domain

    Molecular pharmacology
    1. William T. Birdsong
    2. Seksiri Arttamangkul
    3. James R. Bunzow
    4. John T. Williams