Joseph R. Williamson, MD
Professor of Pathology
Washington University
School of Medicine
(Retired)

Dr. Williamson received his MD from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis in 1958. He took his internship and residency in pathology at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis and then spent a year as a Research Fellow in Medicine at Harvard University School of Medicine in Boston. On returning to St. Louis, Dr. Williamson became a faculty member of the Department of Pathology at Washington University School of Medicine where he remained until his retirement in 1998 as Professor of Pathology.

Dr. Williamson’s professional career has been devoted to elucidating the cause(s) of complications of diabetes. His early research in collaboration with Dr. Kilo provided strong support for the importance of elevated glucose levels, independent of hereditary factors, in causing injury to the eyes, nerves, and kidneys in people with poorly controlled diabetes. Subsequent studies in animal models of diabetes indicated that these complications of diabetes were mediated largely by metabolic changes (caused by high glucose levels) similar to those resulting from lack of oxygen. These research findings have been presented at numerous national and international meetings and have been published in 144 peer-reviewed original manuscripts, 40 invited review articles, and 170 abstracts.

Dr. Williamson has served as an Associate Editor of the journal Diabetes and a member of the Editorial Board of Microvascular Research. He is an active member of several scientific organizations including the American Diabetes Association, European Society for the Study of Diabetes, Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology, American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the Federated Society of Experimental Biology and Medicine.