Postdoctoral Fellow
Will grew up in New Hampshire and then moved west to Vermont for his undergraduate studies at
Middlebury College. At Middlebury, Will developed an independent program of study that spanned
math, computer science, neuroscience, molecular biology and biochemistry. This program included a
stint in the behavioral genetics lab of Dr. Carmen Sandi in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a thesis project
in the lab of Dr. Jeremy Ward focused on gene expression in the mouse hippocampus.
In 2017, Will moved west to the mountains of Montana, where he joined the Wiedenheft lab at
Montana State University in 2019. His research combined phylogenetics, biochemistry, and structural
techniques to determine the evolutionary history and function of viral genes repurposed for host
functions in mammals and bacteria. Will was co-mentored by Harmit Malik at the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Institute.
In 2025, Will moved west again to the University of California, San Francisco, where he joined the
Tenthorey and Yifan Cheng labs. At UCSF, his research will use high throughput methods and biophysical
techniques to determine how viral diversity has sculpted innate immune system flexibility.
Middlebury College. At Middlebury, Will developed an independent program of study that spanned
math, computer science, neuroscience, molecular biology and biochemistry. This program included a
stint in the behavioral genetics lab of Dr. Carmen Sandi in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a thesis project
in the lab of Dr. Jeremy Ward focused on gene expression in the mouse hippocampus.
In 2017, Will moved west to the mountains of Montana, where he joined the Wiedenheft lab at
Montana State University in 2019. His research combined phylogenetics, biochemistry, and structural
techniques to determine the evolutionary history and function of viral genes repurposed for host
functions in mammals and bacteria. Will was co-mentored by Harmit Malik at the Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Institute.
In 2025, Will moved west again to the University of California, San Francisco, where he joined the
Tenthorey and Yifan Cheng labs. At UCSF, his research will use high throughput methods and biophysical
techniques to determine how viral diversity has sculpted innate immune system flexibility.
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