Thomas Andrew Williams

Research Program: Cancer Biology Faculty Rank: Graduate Student Campus: University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Department: Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Cancer Research Interest

• Disease Site Focus: Melanoma
• Research Focus Area: Treatment
• Type of Research: Basic
• Research Keywords: Immunotherapy, T cells, metabolism
• Research Interest Statement: My research investigates how CD28 co-stimulatory signaling regulates the mitochondrial enzyme phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase 2 (PCK2) to promote T cell persistence in nutrient-limited tumor microenvironments. This project identifies a novel CD28–PCK2 axis that enhances T cell metabolic flexibility by supporting biosynthesis under glucose-restricted conditions. By elucidating the mechanisms governing PCK2 stabilization and defining its role in sustaining T cell effector function in solid tumors, this work aims to establish PCK2 as a metabolic target to improve T cell persistence and the efficacy of adoptive cell therapies.

Contact Information

• Email Address: TAWilliams@uams.edu

Recent Publications

• Wolfe AR, Feng H, Zuniga O, [et al., including Williams TM]. RAS-RAF-miR-296-3p signaling axis increases Rad18 expression to augment radioresistance in pancreatic and thyroid cancers. Cancer letters. 2024:216873. PMID: 38604313. PMCID: PMC11132429.
• Wolfe AR, Cui T, Baie S, [et al., including Williams TM]. Nutrient scavenging-fueled growth in pancreatic cancer depends on caveolae-mediated endocytosis under nutrient-deprived conditions. Science advances. 2024 10(9):eadj3551. PMID: 38427741. PMCID: PMC10906919.
• Anders ME, Prince LY, Williams TB, [et al.]. Summer undergraduate biomedical research program for underrepresented minority students in a rural, low-income state. Frontiers in public health. 2024 12:1395942. PMID: 38846599. PMCID: PMC11153754.
• Williams TB, Crump A, Parker P, [et al.]. The association of workforce configurations with length of stay and charges in hospitalized patients with congestive heart failure. Frontiers in health services. 2024 4:1411409. PMID: 39764426. PMCID: PMC11702897.
• Prince LY, Williams TB, Allen AR, [et al.]. Outcomes of the UAMS summer undergraduate research program to increase diversity in research and health professions. Advances in physiology education. 2023 47(1):20-25. PMID: 36326474. PMCID: PMC9762971.
• Zayas CE, Williams TB, Brochhausen M. Experiences with developing and implementing a courageous conversations pilot classroom through synchronous meetings via zoom. Journal of clinical and translational science. 2023 7(1):e32. PMID: 36845317. PMCID: PMC9947604.
• Williams T, Salmanian G, Burns M, [et al.]. Versatility of mesenchymal stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles in tissue repair and regenerative applications. Biochimie. 2022. PMID: 36427681.
• Garza MY, Williams T, Myneni S, [et al.]. Measuring and controlling medical record abstraction (MRA) error rates in an observational study. BMC medical research methodology. 2022 22(1):227. PMID: 35971057. PMCID: PMC9380367.
• Williams TB, Garza M, Lipchitz R, [et al.]. Cultivating informatics capacity for multimorbidity: A learning health systems use case. Journal of multimorbidity and comorbidity. 2022 12:26335565221122017. PMID: 35990170. PMCID: PMC9389034.
• Sebastian NT, Webb A, Merrell KW, [et al., including Williams TM]. Development of a MicroRNA Signature Predictive of Recurrence and Survival in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma. Cancers. 2021 13(20). PMID: 34680317. PMCID: PMC8534163.
• Wolfe AR, Chablani P, Siedow MR, [et al., including Williams TM]. BRAF mutation correlates with worse local-regional control following radiation therapy in patients with stage III melanoma. Radiation oncology (London, England). 2021 16(1):181. PMID: 34537078. PMCID: PMC8449455.
• Memmott RM, Wolfe AR, Carbone DP, Williams TM. Predictors of Response, Progression-Free Survival, and Overall Survival in Patients With Lung Cancer Treated With Immune Checkpoint Inhibitors. Journal of thoracic oncology : official publication of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer. 2021 16(7):1086-1098. PMID: 33845212.
• Wolfe AR, Siedow M, Nalin A, [et al., including Williams TM]. Increasing neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio following radiation is a poor prognostic factor and directly correlates with splenic radiation dose in pancreatic cancer. Radiotherapy and oncology : journal of the European Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. 2021 158:207-214. PMID: 33667588.
• Vazzano J, Frankel WL, Wolfe AR, [et al., including Williams TM]. Morphologic changes associated with neoadjuvant-treated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma and comparison of two tumor regression grading systems. Human pathology. 2021 109:1-11. PMID: 33245985.
• Wolfe AR, Robb R, Hegazi A, [et al., including Williams TM]. Altered Gemcitabine and Nab-paclitaxel Scheduling Improves Therapeutic Efficacy Compared with Standard Concurrent Treatment in Preclinical Models of Pancreatic Cancer. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. 2021 27(2):554-565. PMID: 33087331. PMCID: PMC7855515.
• Williams TB, Prince LY, Allen AR, [et al.]. Performance measures of racially underrepresented Ph.D. students in biomedical sciences: The UAMS IMSD Program Outcomes. PloS one. 2021 16(2):e0246683. PMID: 33556126. PMCID: PMC7870087.