Romesh Batra
Dorman Family Term Distinguished Professor of Biology
College of William & Mary
Lizabeth A. Allison is the Dorman Family Term Distinguished Professor of Biology at the College of William & Mary, where she has taught for 11 years. Before coming to William & Mary, she spent eight years as a faculty member at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand, where she received the Best Science Faculty Lecturer of the Year Award. At William & Mary she has received the Grace J. Blank Teaching Award in Biology and the Alumni Fellowship Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Dr. Allison is an internationally recognized leader and scholar in the field of traffic control in cells. She is best known for her work on mechanisms regulating intracellular trafficking of the thyroid hormone receptor. The receptor is a regulatory protein that turns target genes on or off in response to thyroid hormone. Her work has consistently challenged current understanding in this field, overturning old ideas about the role of receptors in the cell and the mechanisms of gene regulation by thyroid hormone. Importantly, she has shown that disrupted traffic control in cells may contribute to the development of cancer. Dr. Allison has received over $1.8 million in research grants at a time when less than 10% of grants are funded by federal agencies. She has published her significant research findings in major scientific journals with undergraduates and graduate students as coauthors, and has made presentations on her research to audiences worldwide.
Dr. Allison inspires and delights students in her highly regarded courses in molecular genetics, nuclear structure and gene activity, and introductory biology. Fundamental Molecular Biology, the college textbook she wrote, is widely used worldwide. In addition, Dr. Allison has launched an impressive number of undergraduate and graduate researchers into successful scientific careers. During her years at William & Mary, Dr. Allison has advised research projects for three visiting faculty, two post-doctoral fellows, one Ph.D. student, four master’s students, and 63 undergraduates, including 14 honors students. Her influence has extended to local Historically Black Colleges and Universities where she promotes diversity in the scientific community.
A commitment to service is reflected in her membership on many important departmental and campus-wide committees. Notably, she is currently the Director of Graduate Studies in Biology, and is serving on the Planning Steering Committee for William & Mary’s new strategic plan, one of the most important initiatives the campus community has undertaken in recent years.
Dr. Allison earned her B.S. and M.S. in biology from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, and her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Washington. She lives with her husband, physician Michael Levine, and her son Andrew in Williamsburg, Virginia.
