Dr. McKinley D. Williams is a full time Lecturer in the Department of Biology at Prairie View A&M University. He completed his PhD in Microbiology at Texas A&M University in 2024 and previously served as the Senior Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Helene Andrews-Polymenis at Texas A&M's College of Medicine. His research focuses on studying the roles novel microbial metabolites play in bacterial ecophysiology, quorum sensing, immunomodulation, and drug development. He has published 5 papers in various journals including in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the Journal of Natural Products, Frontiers in Microbiology, mSphere, and MDPI's Microorganisms. His teaching disciplines include Microbiology, Human Anatomy & Physiology, and Technical Writing. His personal interests include the study of history, Abrahamic religions, Catholic apologetics, philosophy, metaphysics, ethics, pedagogy, and fine dining.