Natalie Williams-Bouyer, PhD
Associate Professor

Director, Division of Clinical Microbiology
Director, CPEP-Accredited Medical and Public Health Microbiology Fellowship Program
Department of Pathology

Phone: (409) 747-0603
Email: nmwillia@utmb.edu

Natalie Williams-Bouyer, PhD

  • Antimicrobial resistance trends have been a long-standing interest of mine. I am particularly interested in the origins of microorganisms that acquire multiple antibiotic resistance. Individuals infected with drug-resistant organisms are more likely to have longer hospital stays and require treatment with second- or third-generation drugs that may be more toxic, and/or more expensive. Therefore, the focus of my studies is in the utilization of various molecular techniques to determine the epidemiology of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO), as a means of prevention and control of infections caused by these microbes. Ideally, these methods will lead to an improved efficacy in the characterization of antimicrobial resistant organisms isolated in the clinical microbiology laboratory.
  • Bachelor of Science University of Southwestern Louisiana,
    Lafayette, LA
    Microbiology 1989
    Doctor of Philosophy Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN Biomedical Sciences,
    Microbiology
    1997
    Post-Doctoral Fellow University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX Medical and Public Health Microbiology 1999
  • Appointments
    2019- Present Director
    Division of Clinical Microbiology
    Department of Pathology
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas
    2018-Present Director, CPEP-Accredited Clinical and
    Public Health Microbiology Fellowship Program
    Department of Pathology
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas

    Medical and Public Health Microbiology Fellowship Program
    Director Representative
    The sub-Committee on Postdoctoral Educational Programs
    (CPEP) of the American College of Microbiology
    American Society for Microbiology, Washington, D.C.
    2015-Present Associate Professor (with Tenure)
    Department of Pathology
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas
    2013-2018 Associate Director
    Division of Clinical Microbiology
    Department of Pathology
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas
    2013-2015 Associate Professor (Tenure-Track)
    Department of Pathology
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas
    2013-Present Adjunct Associate Professor
    Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas
      Medical Staff, Member
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas
      Medical Education Coordinator
    Department of Pathology
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas

    Selected Honors
    2019 Graduate, Scholars in Education Program, 2017-2019 Cohort
    Office of Educational Development
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas
    2014 Recognition in Appreciation of Outstanding Scholarship and Service
    Keynote Speaker, 29th Annual George H. Howard, Jr. Memorial Heritage Lecture
    Meharry Medical College, Nashville, TN
    2013 Special Recognition for Mentorship of Research Project for Pediatric Resident
    Department of Pediatrics
    UTMB Health, Galveston, Texas
    2010 Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) Public Health Traineeship Award
  • 2015-2017 Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI)
    2012-2013 Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA)
    2010- 2011 Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
    2008-2010 Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA)
    2006-2008 American Burn Association (ABA)
    2006-2008 International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI)
    2005-2007 Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA)
    2005-2007 Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL)
    1995-1997 American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS)
    1990-1997 Sigma Delta Epsilon/Graduate Women in Science (GWIS)
    1988-Present American Society for Microbiology (ASM)
    1. Thwe PM, Ortiz DA, Anderson AL, Hornak JP, Williams-Bouyer N, and Ren P. The Brief Case: Recurrent Chromobacterium violaceum Blood Stream Infection in Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Deficient Patient with Severe Neutrophil Defect. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Accepted for publication July 2019.
    2. Thwe PM, Ortiz DA, Anderson AL, Hornak JP, Williams-Bouyer N, and Ren P. Closing the Brief Case: Recurrent Chromobacterium violaceum Blood Stream Infection in Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6PD) Deficient Patient with Severe Neutrophil Defect. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. Accepted for publication July 2019.
    3. Clement CG, Williams-Bouyer Natalie M., Nawgiri RS; Schnadig VJ. Correlation of Microbiologic Culture and Fine-needle aspiration Cytology: a 14-Year Experience at a Single Institution. Cancer Cytopathology. 123: 612-619, 2015.
    4. Berry GJ, Loeffelholz MJ and Williams-Bouyer N. An Investigation into Laboratory Misidentification of a Bloodstream Klebsiella variicola Infection. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 53: 2793-2794, 2015.
    5. Koshy J, Aronson JA, Vishwanath B and Williams-Bouyer, N. Anaerbiospirillum succiniciproducens Sepsis in an Autopsy Patient: A Troublesome Diagnostic Workup. IDCases. 1: 50-52, 2014.
    6. Escalante P, McKean-Cowdin R, Ramaswamy S, Williams-Bouyer N, TeeterL, Jones, B andGraviss E.Can mycobacterial katG genetic changes in isoniazid-resistant tuberculosis influence human disease features?The International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 17:644-51, 2013.
    7. Clement CG,Loeffelholz MJ, Eltorky MA,Tang Y-W and Williams-Bouyer N. Mycobacterium haemophilum and Histoplasma capsulatum Co-Infection in a Renal Transplant Patient. Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 49:3425–3428, 2011.
    8. Franco DM, Aronson JF, Hawkins HK, Gallagher JJ, Mendoza L, McGinnis MR and Williams-Bouyer N. Systemic Pythium insidiosum in a pediatric burn patient. Burns 36:e68-71, 2010.
    9. Biçmen C, Esen N, Graviss EA, Williams-Bouyer N, Ramaswamy SV, and Yulug N. Molecular characterization of Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Izmir, Turkey. New Microbiologia.30 (3):229-40, 2007.
    10. Zhang Y, Yarkus MA, Graviss EA, Williams-Bouyer N, Turenne C, Kabani A and Wallace RJ Jr.Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) study of Mycobacterium abscessus isolates previously affected by DNA degradation.Journal of Clinical Microbiology. 42: 5582-5587, 2004.
    11. Conger NG, O’Connell R, Laurel V, Olivier K, Graviss EA, Williams-Bouyer N,Zhang Y and Wallace RJ Jr.Mycobacterium simiae Pseudo-outbreak Associated with a Hospital Water Supply.Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology.25: 1050-1055, 2004.
    12. El Sahly HM, Wright JA, Soini H, Bui TT, Williams-Bouyer N, Escalante P, Musser JM and Graviss EA. Recurrent Tuberculosis in Houston, Texas- A Population-Based Study.  International Journal of Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. 8: 333-340, 2004.
    13. Woods GL, Williams-Bouyer N, Wallace RJ, Brown-Elliott BA, Witebsky FG, Conville, PS, Plaunt M, Hall G, Aralar and  Inderlied C. Multisite Reproducibility of Results Obtained by Two Broth Dilution Methods for Susceptibility Testing of Mycobacterium avium Complex.  Journal of Clinical Microbiology.  41:  627 631, 2003.
    14. El Sahly HM, Septimus E, Soini H, Septimus J, Wallace RJ, Xi P, Williams-Bouyer N, Musser JM, and Graviss EA. Mycobacterium simiae Pseudo-Outbreak Resulting from Contaminated Hospital Water Supply in Houston, Texas. Clinical Infectious Diseases.Clinical Infectious Diseases. 35:802-807, 2002.
    15. Woods GL, Bergmann JS, and Williams-Bouyer N. Clinical evaluation of the Gen-Probe Amplified Mycobacterium Tuberculosis Direct Test for rapid detection of M. tuberculosis in select nonrespiratory specimens.Journal of Clinical Microbiology.39: 747-749, 2001.
    16. Williams-Bouyer N, Yorke R, Lee HI and Woods GL.Comparison of the MGIT 960 and ESP Culture System II for growth and detection of mycobacteria.  Journal of Clinical Microbiology.  38: 4167-4170, 2000.
    17. Williams-Bouyer N, Reisner BS and Woods GL.Comparison of Gen-Probe AccuProbe group B streptococcus culture identification test with conventional culture for the detection of group B streptococci in broth cultures of vaginal-anorectal specimens from pregnant women.  Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease 36:159 162, 2000.
    18. Williams-Bouyer N, Hernandez A and Reisner BS.Predicting the susceptibility of Streptococcus pneumoniae to ceftriaxone and cefotaxime by cefuroxime and ceftizoxime disk diffusion testing.Journal of Clinical Microbiology 37:3707-3710, 1999.
    19. Williams-Bouyer N, Reisner BS, Woodmansee CE, Falk PS and Mayhall CG.Comparison of the Vitek GPS-TB card to disk diffusion testing for predicting the susceptibility of enterococci to vancomycin.Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine 123:622-625, 1999.
    20. Williams-Bouyer NM and McGinnis Hill E. Involvement of host cell tyrosine phosphorylation in the invasion of HEp-2 cells by Bartonella bacilliformis.FEMS Microbiology Letters 171:191-201, 1999.

    NIH Biosketch