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A native of Frederick, MD, William (Billy) Mills began his scientific training at the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, VA) where he double majored in Biochemistry and Biology. Following the completion of his undergraduate studies, Dr. Mills completed his Ph.D. in Biological Chemistry at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Baltimore, MD) where he developed biochemical methods and computational tools for studying the role of microRNAs in mediating post-transcriptional gene regulation in the mammalian brain. While in graduate school, Dr. Mills was an adjunct instructor at Stevenson University (Owings Mills, MD) where he taught courses in the Biology and Chemistry Departments. Dr. Mills began his appointment as an assistant professor in the Department of Science at Mount St. Mary’s University in fall 2023 and earned his MBA from the Mount in 2025..
Learn more at the Mills Lab website.
*co-first author
†undergraduate mentee
Li X, Eiss EA, Mills WT, IV, and Meffert MK (2024). Molecular protocol for genome-wide and cell-type-selective profiling of in vivo small noncoding RNA:target RNA interactions by CIMERA-seq. STAR Protoc. doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2024.103477
Li X*, Mills WT, IV*, Jin DS, and Meffert MK (2024). Genome-wide and Cell-type Selective Profiling of In Vivo Small Noncoding RNA:Target RNA Interactions by Chimeric RNA Sequencing. Cell Rep Methods, 4(8): 100836. doi.org/10.1016/j.crmeth.2024.100836
Subramanian M, Mills WT, IV, Paranjpe MD, Onuchukwu US, Inamdar M, Maytin AR, Li X, Pomerantz JL, and Meffert MK (2023). Growth-suppressor microRNAs mediate synaptic overgrowth and behavioral deficits in Fragile X mental retardation protein deficiency. iScience. doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2023.108676
Mills WT, IV, Eadara S, Jaffee AE, and Meffert MK (2022). SCRAP: a bioinformatic pipeline for the analysis of small chimeric RNA-seq data. RNA, 29(1): 1–17. doi.org/10.1261/rna.079240.122
Oldach LM, Gorshkov K, Mills WT, IV, Zhang J, and Meffert MK (2018). A biosensor for MAPK-dependent Lin28 signaling. Mol Biol Cell, 29(10): 1157-1167. doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E17-08-0500
Mills WT, IV, Nassar NN†, Ravindra D†, Li X, Meffert MK (2020). Multi-level regulatory interactions between NF-κB and the pluripotency factor Lin28. Cells, 9(12): 2710. doi.org/10.3390/cells9122710
Mills, W. “The impact of AI on students.” Knowing Neurons, November 12, 2025.
Mills, W. “Debugging my code and teaching with ChatGPT.” ASBMB Today, October 16, 2025.
Mills, W. “Extend your reach by turning your lessons into podcasts.” Nature, July 1, 2025.
Mills, W. “So you’ve made a lab website. What should go on it?” Nature, March 12, 2025.
Mills, W. “How I made the most of my time as an undergraduate (and what I could have done better).” ASBMB Today, January 30, 2025.
Mills, W. Discovery of small molecule wins big prize. Frederick News Post, October 11, 2024.
Mills, W. Excelling at Hopkins: How to Make the Most of Your Time in Graduate School. Biomedical Odyssey, March 8, 2023.
MicroRNAs are a unique class of molecules that regulate the timing and specificity of gene expression in nearly all eukaryotes, and even some viruses. MicroRNAs are normally thought to act as a brake on protein synthesis by preventing the translation of nuclear-encoded transcripts, as is seen in their misregulation in cancer. However, more recent discoveries suggest that microRNAs may have enhancing effects on translation and may even regulate non-nuclear-encoded transcripts such as those encoded by mitochondria. I am interested in understanding these noncanonical roles of microRNAs in regulating gene expression and what they might tell us about the importance of these molecules in modulating fundamental processes in the cell. Additionally, I am also interested in developing computational tools that allow scientists to thoroughly analyze and evaluate complex datasets generated from sequencing experiments. I strive to develop bioinformatic pipelines and educational tutorials to help equip researchers with the tools and skills they need to answer important questions in cell and molecular biology.