Dr. Williams joined the FDA in 1980 after receiving a PhD. in Economics from Virginia Tech and is currently the Director of the Division of Market Studies (DMS) in the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. The Division includes economists, statisticians, epidemiologists, physicians, psychologists, sociologists, nutritionists and agricultural economists. His staff is responsible for diverse research including consumer research related to First Amendment issues, estimating benefits, risks and costs of regulations affecting food safety, labeling, biosecurity, and gathering and analyzing epidemiological data in support of regulations and enforcement actions. Dr. Williams has negotiated the United States’ position on various matters under the U.S./Canada Free Trade Act. In addition, Dr. Williams is currently responsible for developing a series of courses in risk analysis for food risk management as a part of both JIFSAN and the Staff College. He is an expert in risk analysis, particularly risk management, and has recently published papers on risk trade-offs. He is also an expert on regulatory flexibility for small businesses.