Rate My Professor William Willats

Professor William Willats is the Professor of Molecular Agri-Diagnostics at Newcastle University’s Institute for Agri-Food Research and Innovation (IAFRI), within the School of Natural and Environmental Sciences and the Faculty of Science, Agriculture and Engineering. Previously, he held the position of Professor in the Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences at the University of Copenhagen from 2009 to 2014. His research focuses on plant cell walls, developing innovative methods for glycan and polysaccharide analysis, including the Microarray Polymer Profiling (MAPP) technique for high-throughput screening. Willats investigates carbohydrate-active enzymes, microbial interactions with plant glycans, biomass degradation, and applications in food science and agriculture, such as modulating glycaemic index and analyzing food soils.

Professor Willats’ scholarly impact is evidenced by over 22,614 citations on Google Scholar. He has co-authored numerous peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals. Key recent publications include: “Structural dissection of two redox proteins from the shipworm symbiont Teredinibacter turnerae” (IUCrJ, 2024), “Potentials of Mahachanok mango peel pectin in modulating glycaemic index in simulated in vitro carbohydrate digestion of meat product” (Journal of Agriculture and Food Research, 2024), “Banana Peel (Musa ABB cv. Nam Wa Mali-Ong) as a Source of Value-Adding Components and the Functional Properties of Its Bioactive Ingredients” (Plants, 2024), “Microarray Polymer Profiling (MAPP) for High-Throughput Glycan Analysis” (Journal of Visualized Experiments, 2023), “Analysis of glycans in a Burnt-on/Baked-on (BoBo) model food soil using Microarray Polymer Profiling (MAPP) and immunofluorescence microscopy” (Food Chemistry, 2023), “Exploring the polysaccharide composition of plant cell walls in succulent aloes” (Plants People Planet, 2023), and “Dissecting succulence: Crassulacean acid metabolism and hydraulic capacitance are independent adaptations in Clusia leaves” (Plant Cell and Environment, 2023). Earlier works feature in Nature Communications, New Phytologist, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and others, contributing to advancements in plant cell wall biology and agri-food diagnostics.