William (Billy) Nash, Ph.D. grew up in the Seattle area and received his B.S. in biology from Gonzaga University (Spokane, WA). After a brief period away from science, he decided to further his education and pursue a Ph.D. This led him East to the University of Virginia where he entered the doctoral program in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cancer Biology. He completed his training as an immunologist in Spring 2016 and opted to stay in town as a postdoctoral researcher at the university. He now studies the complicated syndrome of sepsis in hopes of providing much needed insight that will benefit patients.
Part of the decision to remain in Charlottesville was due his interest in and involvement with Open Bio Labs. During his time as a graduate student, Dr. Nash developed an interest in entrepreneurship and translational science, elements he believes are necessary to truly take science from the lab to real-world application. Knowing this, a labmate introduced him to Shaun in 2014, a time when Shaun was just getting his entrepreneurial feet under him. They have remained in contact ever since. Dr. Nash shared his thoughts with Shaun as the vision of a community labspace took form and then later attended the inaugural meeting of the Virginia Coalition of Community Labs—hosted in Charlottesville by the then-established Open Bio Labs. Following this meeting, he agreed to take a more active role in directing Open Bio Labs.
The principles behind Open Bio Labs remain a strong attractant for Dr. Nash and he is committed to ensuring its growth and success. Community spaces like this offer unique and much-needed opportunities for dialogue and the education of a new era of citizen-scientists. He is excited to be a part of the evolution of this movement and the development of Charlottesville as a whole.