Ariel Williams, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Informatics Division
Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine
Contact Information:
Phone: (434) 243-7250
Email: wqy3dd@virginia.edu
Education
PhD, Integrated Biomedical Sciences – North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC (December 2020)
Research Interests:
Dr. Ariel Williams’ research integrates genomics, bioinformatics, and clinical data science to explore complex disease mechanisms, with a focus on health disparities and precision medicine. Her work leverages multi-omic data, artificial intelligence (AI), and electronic health records (EHR) to identify genetic and environmental contributors to chronic diseases such as stroke, chronic kidney disease (CKD), type 2 diabetes, hypertension and cancer.
Technical Skills
- Data Science & Bioinformatics: Big Data Analytics, EHR Phenotyping, GWAS, PheWAS, Polygenic Risk Scores, Phenotype Risk Scores, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence
- Programming: R, Python, Hail, PLINK, SQL, Bash, Google Cloud Platform
Expertise:
- Genomic and Phenomic Data Integration – Utilizing datasets from UVA Health, the National COVID Cohort Collaborative, the All of Us Research Program, and the UK Biobank to analyze disease risks and outcomes.
- Stroke and Cardiovascular Research – Examining stroke recurrence and risk factors, including epigenetic, clinical, social, and environmental influences.
- AI & Machine Learning in Medicine – Applying AI/ML techniques to predict disease progression, treatment outcomes, and drug efficacy.
- Health Disparities & Community Engagement – Developing culturally tailored weight-reduction strategies to prevent obesity-related cancers and improve metabolic health in rural populations.
Recent Publications: