R. Sanders Williams, MD

Robert Sanders “Sandy” Williams, MD, is the senior vice chancellor for academic affairs at Duke University. He served as dean of the Duke University School of Medicine from 2001 to 2007, and has enjoyed a distinguished career as a cardiologist and researcher and has made major contributions to the understanding of how cardiovascular disease develops.

A native of Athens, Georgia, Williams earned his undergraduate degree from Princeton University in 1970 and his medical degree from Duke in 1974. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital before returning to Duke for a cardiology fellowship.

Williams joined the Duke faculty in 1980 as an assistant professor of medicine, physiology, and cell biology. He was a visiting professor at Oxford University in 1984, then returned to Duke, where he became an associate professor of medicine and microbiology in 1986.

In 1990 Williams joined the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center as professor, chief of cardiology, and director of the Ryburn Center for Molecular Cardiology. While at UT-Southwestern, he expanded the cardiology faculty from 12 to 50. He also helped set up the Center for Biomedical Invention (CBI), which develops new drugs and procedures to improve the prevention and treatment of heart disease.

As a physician-scientist, Williams discovered genes, proteins, and pathways that control the development and proliferation of cardiac and skeletal muscle cells. He defined basic principles about how these cells adapt to changes brought on by stresses such as exercise and diseases such as congestive heart failure. He has published approximately 200 articles in prestigious scientific journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Nature. He also holds five patents for his work.

Williams’s work to combat heart disease -- America’s leading killer -- extends beyond the Medical Center. He has chaired several committees for the American Heart Association, including its Research Committee, which annually distributes more than $200 million in research funding. He also has served as president of the Association of University Cardiologists and currently serves on the Director’s Advisory Committee of the National Institutes of Health and the Board of External Advisors to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. In addition, he is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Williams has been honored with numerous awards for his research and teaching in cardiovascular disease, including the Duke University School of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2000.