Dr. William DePaolo, Will, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Washington Medical Center and is the recipient of the Lynn M. and Michael D. Garvey endowed chair in Gastroenterology.

Will was named Director of the Center for Microbiome Sciences & Therapeutics (CMiST). CMiST will serve as a beacon for investigators, clinicians and patients interested in the human microbiome, and will offer a number of Innovation Services, facilitate collaboration and exploration through workshops and seminar series, and work alongside clinicians to develop and test microbiome-derived therapeutics.

In 2004, Will received his PhD in Immunology & Microbial Pathogenesis from the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University. Will then completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Chicago where he investigated the molecular pathogenesis of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes bubonic plague, while concurrently developing projects investigating immune-modulation within the intestine. In 2011, Will joined the faculty at University of Southern California as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology. Will combines his interdisciplinary training to investigate the contribution of our 100 trillion gut bacteria (or microbiome) to inflammatory diseases and to develop strategies aimed at manipulating this vast community. Will's current research extends across scientific disciplines and clinical diseases such as obesity, colon cancer, inflammatory bowel disease and enteric pathogens.