Stanford Neuroscientist โNolan Williams, Pioneer in Rapid Depression Treatment, Dies at 43
STANFORD, CAโ – Nolan Williams, aโ Stanford University professor whose innovativeโข research offered hope for โคfaster โrelief from severe โdepression, โขhas died atโฃ the age โof 43.โค His death โunderscores the urgent need forโ increased research into severeโฃ mental โillness, colleagues say.
Williams, a full professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, joined Stanford in 2019 as an assistant professor, quickly rising to associate โprofessor in 2023. He was known โคfor his groundbreaking work inโฃ neuropsychopharmacology andโ hisโ dedication to developing more effective treatments โfor debilitating mentalโค health conditions. โ
Aโข highly skilled kite surfer who embraced the sport inโ its early โdays, Williams brought that same pioneering spiritโ to his research. “He started trying to figure out how โto kite surf back before it โwas safe โto kite surf,” said Raj, his โฃwife and chief of interventional psychiatry at Stanford.โฃ “He was trying โto figure it out well before it was โcool to do. But that’s how he was โคabout everything.”
Williams’s lab flourished underโค his leadership, demonstratingโข aโข talent for identifying and โฃempowering talented researchers. “He wasn’t afraid of giving out responsibilities,” saidโ Austelle. “I think that gave him more โtimeโ to swing back and forth among various projects.”
Throughout โคhis career, Williamsโ published โขover 100 peer-reviewed journal articles, โฃdelivered more than 200 presentations, and secured over a dozen patents. He was an active member of several prestigious organizations,including the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology,theโ Americanโ Neuropsychiatric โขAssociation,and the Wu Tsai Neurosciencesโค Institute. His contributions were recognized with awards such as the Klerman Prize and Colvin Prize from the Brain and Behavior Foundation,and the Joel โขElkes โฃResearch Award (posthumously) from the American College of neuropsychopharmacology.
Beyond his professional achievements, Williams was remembered for his calm demeanor and approachable nature. “what I heard from people โis that theyโ were intimidated before they met him,” Austelle noted. “But then when they actually met him, they were surprised byโ how humble and welcoming he was and how willing he โฃwas toโ help.”
He and Raj married in 2019 in a ceremony in theโข Azores, with Schatzberg officiating.Theyโฃ enjoyed traveling and attending concerts, initially focusing on kite surfing โdestinations and later, snowboarding trips with their two children, โHendrix and Autumn.
“I think he โฃreally felt likeโ that’s what โคhe was hereโ on Earth to do,” โRaj said of his dedicationโข to his work.โ Colleagues expressed a profound sense of loss, lamenting the potential of his unrealized future discoveries. “He was anโ extraordinary physician-scientist.โ We all wonder what heโ would have โคinvented โnext year or 10 years from now and what a difference โtheseโฃ contributions would haveโ made,”โค said Roberts.
Williams is survived byโค his โwife, Raj; his mother; his brother; and their two โฃchildren. His deathโข serves โฃas a stark reminderโค of the critical need for continuedโฃ researchโ into โsevere mental illness and improved methods for detection and treatment, โaccording to Malenka.
