Remembering Allison Williams, PhD

We write with deep sadness to inform you of the passing of our much-loved colleague, Allison Hillary Mckenzie-Forget Williams, PhD, who died two weeks ago after a years-long battle with cancer. We extend our sincerest condolences to Dr. Williams’ family, friends, colleagues, trainees, and collaborators.

In 2020 Allison (“Allie” to her many friends) moved from a position at the Institut Pasteur in Paris to become a faculty member in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology at UCSF.  Her friends and colleagues knew her as a dedicated scientist, educator, and mentor. As a scientist, she was a rare triple-threat, whose expertise spanned structural biology, biochemistry, and genetics. As an educator and mentor, Allison supervised 19 trainees in her six years at UCSF, including PhD and MD/PhD students, postdoctoral fellows, undergraduate researchers, and research associates. She was known both for creating a supportive laboratory environment and for demanding a high level of rigor in the work of her trainees. To her colleagues, Allison was a generous collaborator; a knowledgeable and energetic kibitzer over new data and ideas; and an uproariously funny, warm, and kind presence in their lives. She had a big personality and a uniquely infectious smile that fairly lit up a room when she walked in.  We will all sorely miss Allie’s irreplaceable charm. 

Allison’s interest in structural biology and bacterial physiology began as a graduate student at Duke University, in the laboratory of Christian Raetz, where she studied the structure and function of the acyltransferases that generate bacterial cell wall components. As a postdoctoral fellow she worked with Brenda Schulman at St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital, studying elements of the autophagy pathway. Following her postdoctoral work, Allison took a research position in the Department of Microbiology at the Institut Pasteur in Paris.  In Paris she returned to the study of bacterial physiology, working closely with Pascal Cossart and Ivo Boneca. It was during this time that she began structural studies of the bacterial ‘stressosome’ complex that she would continue to pursue as a faculty member at UCSF. 

At UCSF, Dr. Williams was Assistant Professor of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, Investigator in the Quantitative Biosciences Institute (QBI), and an Investigator of the Chan-Zuckerburg Biohub. Allison’s research contributions were recognized with honors including the UCSF School of Medicine’s Watson Scholar Award in 2021. Her ambitious research program aimed to uncover the molecular mechanisms underlying fundamental aspects of bacterial physiology, often with an eye to identifying new targets for anti-microbial therapy. In her all-too-short time at UCSF Allison’s laboratory made important discoveries regarding how bacteria respond to environmental stress and antibiotic exposure.
Throughout her career, Dr. Williams exemplified the values that define UCSF—curiosity, compassion, and a dedication to advancing science in service of society. She approached her work and her relationships with humor and grace, even in the face of serious illness.

Beyond her professional accomplishments, Allison was deeply devoted to her family and its joyous confluence of American, French, and Jamaican influences. She was a loving wife to husband, Antoine, and devoted mother to two children, Anna and Alan. Anyone who knew her knew that this was the center of her life; the hub of her wheeled universe. Her love for them was evident in everything she did, and they were a constant source of pride and joy.  

We take some comfort in the fact that Allison lives on through her scientific contributions, and through the many lives she touched as a mentor, colleague, and friend. She was taken from us much too soon and we deeply mourn her loss, but we also honor the kindness, humor, compassion, and integrity that defined her life and work. Rest in peace.

Dyche Mullins, Department Chair
Mia Morgan, Department CAO