Kevin Williams, Ph.D.

Kevin Williams, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of the Center for Hypothalamic Research. His lab examines the role of neural circuits and signaling mechanisms in controlling feeding behavior, energy expenditure, and glucose metabolism.

Dr. Williams holds a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Texas at Dallas, where he graduated cum laude. He earned his doctorate in neuroscience at Tulane University in Louisiana, followed by postdoctoral fellowship training in hypothalamic research at UT Southwestern Medical Center.

He joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2007.

Dr. Williams investigates how neural circuits within the hypothalamus regulate metabolism, body weight, food intake, and glucose balance. His laboratory combines electrophysiology, calcium imaging, and genetic models to examine how populations of neurons respond to hormones, nutrients, exercise, and other physiological signals. This approach connects cellular activity in the brain with whole-body metabolic health.

His research has advanced understanding of neural circuits involved in obesity and diabetes. Dr. Williams’ group demonstrated that exercise alters the properties and connections of hypothalamic neurons in ways that can produce lasting improvements in glucose regulation. His studies have also examined how GLP-1 and related medications act on brain circuits that control appetite, how TRPC5 channels contribute to energy balance, and how cellular stress responses in hypothalamic neurons affect feeding and glucose metabolism. His findings have appeared in journals including Science, Cell, Cell Metabolism, Nature Metabolism, and The Journal of Clinical Investigation. His laboratory’s work is supported by multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health.

Dr. Williams teaches graduate students and medical students in courses addressing neuroscience, metabolism, and the regulation of homeostasis. He mentors graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career scientists and serves on institutional committees supporting graduate education and research. His professional activities have included leadership roles with The Obesity Society and the Hypothalamus Gordon Research Conference, along with editorial positions and service on scientific review panels.