J. William Costerton, Ph.D.
Dr. J. William Costerton is the world leader in biofilm research and an expert in microbiology and electron microscopy. During his postdoctoral research work, Dr. Costerton discovered that natural bacterial colonies create their own microhabitats, which become covered with a protective layer of molecules he named “biofilm.” This discovery, published in Scientific American in 1978, led to a new way of thinking about bacteria implicated in chronic diseases and infections.
Dr. Costerton serves as the Director of Microbial Research in the Department of Orthopaedics at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, as well as the Director of Biofilm Research, Genomic Sciences at Allegheny-Singer Research Institute. Prior to this dual appointment, Dr. Costerton established the University of Southern California Center for Biofilms at the School of Dentistry. He also served as a full professor in the School of Dentistry’s Division of Craniofacial Sciences and Therapeutics. Dr. Costerton was previously Director of the Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University-Bozeman, and spent two decades at the University of Calgary, where he taught biology and held two chairs in microbiology.
Dr. Costerton has received numerous international awards, prizes and accolades for his scientific achievements. He has published more than 600 peer-reviewed articles and is a highly cited researcher.
A native of British Columbia, Dr. Costerton earned his Ph.D. in bacteriology from the University of Western Ontario and completed a post-doctoral fellowship at University of Cambridge.
