معرفی
Dr. Richard Willson is a Distinguished Visiting Professor in Biotechnology Engineering at Tecnológico de Monterrey, affiliated with both the Obesity Research Institute and the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. He simultaneously holds the prestigious Huffington-Woestemeyer Professorship of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and of Biochemistry at the University of Houston.
His extensive academic career includes significant roles as co-principal investigator for the FDA's Southwest-Midwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium (SWPDC), a long-standing affiliate in Baylor College of Medicine's Quantitative and Computational Biology program since 2008, and a distinguished senior affiliate in the Cancer program at the Houston Methodist Research Institute since 2007.
Dr. Willson's research focuses on developing innovative diagnostics for infectious diseases and metabolic disorders through biomolecular recognition using monoclonal antibodies and aptamers. His laboratory specializes in expression systems, mutagenesis, fluorescence anisotropy kinetics, and titration calorimetry. Recent work emphasizes antibody purification, ultra-sensitive lateral flow immunoassays for home-based detection, and computer technology applications for differentiating viruses from human DNA.
His expertise in nucleic acid purification led to his selection for Moderna's founding Technical Advisory Board in 2012, where he contributed to the foundational work that later enabled the development of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines.
- Medical diagnostics
- Molecular biology
- Bioseparations
- Immunochromatographic diagnostics
- Process analytical technology
- Infectious disease diagnostics
- Metabolic disorder diagnostics
Dr. Willson's educational background includes a PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT, a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Caltech, and postdoctoral training in Biology at MIT. His research bridges engineering principles with clinical applications to address significant healthcare challenges through innovative diagnostic solutions.
