Dr William Johnston
Lecturer in Biomedical Science
Department of Biological and Biomedical SciencesDr William Johnston is a Lecturer in Biomedical Science. He graduated with a BSc (Hons) Applied Biomedical Science degree from GCU in 2018 before completing a PhD in Oral Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Glasgow in 2021. His doctoral research investigated the host and microbial response to non-surgical periodontal therapy, combining clinical sampling with microbiome, immunological and molecular analyses.
Following his PhD, Dr Johnston returned to GCU as a postdoctoral researcher, where he worked on translational microbiology projects focused on microbial biofilms, including live biotherapeutics, bacteriophage-derived endolysins and drug-repurposing strategies. He was appointed Lecturer in Biomedical Science in August 2024.
Dr Johnston’s research group focuses on microbial biofilms, antimicrobial resistance and host-microbe interactions, with particular interest in oral health, periodontal disease and mucosal infection. His group develops clinically relevant in vitro and ex vivo biofilm models to better understand complex microbial communities and evaluate novel antimicrobial and microbiome-modulating approaches.
He is principal investigator on projects funded by the National Biofilms Innovation Centre (NBIC), the Academy of Medical Sciences (AMS), Tenovus Scotland, Medical Research Scotland and the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA). He is also a co-investigator on projects funded by Innovate UK and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC). These projects span oral biofilms, periodontal dysbiosis, antimicrobial stewardship, bacterial vaginosis and translational model development.
Dr Johnston is a member of GCU’s Research Centre for Health (ReaCH), where his work contributes to interdisciplinary programmes spanning microbiology, chronic disease, infection prevention and translational health research.
Alongside research, Dr Johnston delivers teaching in biomedical science and clinical laboratory skills, including IBMS-accredited modules that support student development toward professional biomedical science practice. He also contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching across microbiology, infection biology, antimicrobial mechanisms and research project design.
Externally, Dr Johnston is an HCPC-registered Biomedical Scientist, a Member of the Institute of Biomedical Science and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. He serves on the Editorial Boards of Critical Reviews in Microbiology and Anaerobe, and contributes to national and international biofilm and microbiology research networks.
Further details of Dr Johnston’s research, funding and publication history can be found within his research profile.