Bill Self currently serves as the Chair of the Advisory Council of Faculty Senates. Dr. Self is a Professor of Medicine in the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences where he also serves as the Associate Director of Undergraduate Affairs. The Burnett School is an interdisciplinary School that offers graduate and undergraduate programs across the areas of Molecular Microbiology, Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biotechnology and Cancer research. Burnett School is part of the UCF College of Medicine, itself established just over 10 years ago, and the School serves as the major research active unit in the College.
Bill received his Bachelor of Science in Microbiology (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Florida in 1993, followed by his Ph.D. in 1998 in which he studied the role of molybdenum in the transcriptional regulation of genes involved in energy metabolism in Escherichia coli under the guidance of Dr. K. T. Shanmugam. After finishing his Ph.D., he was awarded a post-doctoral fellowship at the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute under the guidance of Dr. Thressa C. Stadtman (NAS member) in Bethesda, Maryland. At the NIH he studied anaerobic microbiology and biochemistry under Dr. Stadtman in the Laboratory of Biochemistry to help build a solid foundation for future independent research in the areas of both bacterial genetics and biochemistry.
Since arriving at UCF in 2003 he has continued studies of genetics and biochemistry of metalloenzymes from clostridia, especially Clostridioides difficile, but also expanded his research to include research in catalytic nanomaterials (cerium oxide nanoparticles) in collaboration with a leading material scientist, Dr. Sudipta Seal, at UCF. Dr. Self has 74 publications including primary research articles, reviews and book chapters and his work has been highly cited in recent years (H-index of 43 with over 9500 citations). He has given 14 invited talks at national/international conferences and Universities in the past 8 years, served as a panel chair twice at international conferences and served on twelve NIH study sections and six NSF study sections since 2009. He has authored/co-authored over 120 conference presentations alongside students he has mentored and been awarded eight patents (with two more still pending) since 2009. Three of these patents were licensed in 2018.
Besides his extensive research and service to the profession, Dr. Self has also been heavily involved in service to UCF, including serving for seven years on Senate Joint Committees and Councils and eight years as a Faculty Senator for the College of Medicine. Dr. Self served as Chair of the Undergraduate council for two years, a council that oversees all undergraduate curriculum and policies at UCF. He also served as a Provost Faculty Fellow under Dale Whittaker when he was Provost in 2015-2016. He served for three years as the Chair of the Faculty Senate at UCF, and likewise for three years as a member of the UCF Board of Trustees. These three years (2017-2020) were arguably the most challenging times that UCF has seen in its short history as an institution, and this experience was both challenging and rewarding.
He and his wife of 26 years, Marianne, also spend quite a bit of time with their four sons. Matthew and Ryan are current undergraduate students at the University of Florida, Michael is an undergraduate student at Florida State University, and Zach (UF alum) begins medical school at UCF this Fall.