Dionna W. Williams

Dionna W. Williams is an Assistant Professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, affiliated with the Departments of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology and Medicine (Division of Clinical Pharmacology). Her research focuses on the neurobiology of disease, particularly HIV's impact on the brain and its interactions with antiretroviral therapies and drugs of abuse. She leads the Williams Lab, which investigates neuroimmune responses, drug transport across the blood-brain barrier, and translational strategies to mitigate neurologic dysfunction in HIV patients.

Her current projects include studying antiretroviral therapy distribution in the brain, cannabidiol's anti-inflammatory potential, and monocyte migration's role in cognitive decline. Collaborations span neurology, psychology, computational biology, and engineering. Williams' work emphasizes translational research to address persistent challenges in HIV eradication and neurological comorbidities.