Biography

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Michael D. Williams, Ph.D. Dr. Williams is a Research Scientist at the Atlanta VA Medical Center's Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Vision Loss and Aging, and is also assigned to the VA Blind Rehabilitation Service National Program Office in Washington DC as a Data Manger and Rehab Planning Specialist. He holds an academic appointment as an Instructor at Georgia State University, and as a Research Scientist at Georgia Institute of Technology's Center for Assistive Technology and Environmental Access. His current research interests include: 1. The utilization of healthcare services and programs among older persons and how this process influences disparities in health and well-being; 2. Outcomes and program evaluation of VA-sponsored blind rehabilitation services; 3. Processes and issues surrounding family / informal caregiving for elderly disabled care recipients. Dr. Williams' active research studies include VA merit grant C3222R "Assessing Help-Seeking Behavior as a Predictor for Participation in Visual Impairment Rehabilitation" (Principal Investigator); VA merit grant C3489R "Caregiver Burden and the Rehab of Aging Visually Impaired Veterans" (Principal Investigator); VA Rehab R&D Developmental Award #04-2 "Depression and Depressive Symptomatology Among Veterans Eligible for VA Blind Rehab" (Principal Investigator); and VA Rehab R&D Developmental Award #04-1 "Caregiver's Intensified Low Vision Rehabilitation Program" (Co- Principal Investigator). He is a member of the Gerontological Society of America, The American Sociological Association, The Southern Sociological Society, and The Association for The Education and Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired.