Dr. Williams is a bioarchaeologist whose primary research centers on understanding human response and adaptation to mass disaster and climate change using an evolutionary framework that incorporates local context, cultural environments, and human health. She has taught courses on quantitative methods in anthropology, and has presented research on database design and management. Her research spans osteology, archaeology, paleopathology, and historical demography in Germany, England, Italy, and the United States. She has a PhD from the Ohio State University in Anthropology and an MSc from the University of Sheffield in Human Osteology and Funerary Archaeology.