Dr Williams is the leader of the Diagnostics and Mammalian infectious Disease Research group at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness, Geelong, Victoria, which is a part of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). This group comprises high level multidisciplinary capability in virus diagnostics, contributing to national and regional emergency animal disease diagnostics, surveillance, and agent characterisation, as well as research and development in related areas. Dr Williams’ research and academic interests have included the detection, diagnosis, pathogenesis, and epidemiology of emerging transboundary viruses that affect animals and humans. In particular, his work has focused on mosquito-borne viruses such as Japanese encephalitis virus and African swine fever (ASF). Dr Williams is the WOAH Expert at the WOAH Reference Laboratory for African swine fever at ACDP and is Co-Chair of the WOAH ASF Laboratory Network. He regularly contributes to workshops and missions for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and WOAH on ASF diagnostics and preparedness. Dr Williams is member of the National Arbovirus and Malaria Advisory Committee (an Australian Department of Health technical advisory committee) and is a Fellow of the Australasian Society for Microbiology. He is a Deputy Chair of the Public Health Laboratory Network Expert Review Panel for Zoonotic Flavivirus Diagnostics. He has extensive experience working on laboratory and disease surveillance capacity building projects in the Pacific and Southeast Asia.