Diana Williams, Ph.D.

Dr. Williams's research examines the neural and endocrine control of motivated behaviors, with a focus on eating behavior. Many of her studies explore how the gut communicates with the brain about nutrients coming into the gastrointestinal tract during meals, and how the brain integrates this information with the taste of food, desire and pleasure, cues in the environment, and learned habits that can affect eating. Her laboratory employs normal and genetically modified rodent models and a variety of techniques including pharmacology, neuroanatomy and histochemistry, surgical manipulation of the gut and brain, measurement of circulating hormones and fuels, and detailed behavioral analysis. This work helps reveal the biological underpinnings of our everyday eating experiences, and also sheds light on pathological states including eating disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder.