Bill 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 serves as the major research active unit in the College of Medicine at UCF.

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 80 publications including primary research articles, reviews and book chapters and his work has been highly cited in recent years (H-index of 50 with over 15000 citations).