Alison Williams is Associate Director of Diversity Programs and Graduate Recruiting in the Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University. She began her scientific career in high school working at the Ohio State Agricultural Research and Development Center in Wooster, Ohio. She received her undergraduate degree in chemistry from Wesleyan University and her M.S. and Ph.D. in biophysical chemistry from the University of Rochester where she was a NSF graduate fellow. She taught at Swarthmore College and Wesleyan University before joining the faculty of the chemistry department at Princeton University in 2003. Her research focuses on thermodynamic and kinetic properties of nucleic acids. Most recently her work emphasizes the role of ions in shaping the physical properties of oligonucleotides. She currently is an NSF ADVANCE Fellow. Dr. Williams has also received numerous recognitions for her teaching, outreach and mentoring activities for scientists of all ages.