About Bill Yates
As Vice Chancellor for Research Protections, Bill Yates leads the units within the Office of Research Protections (ORP). The ORP supports investigators in the design and conduct of research studies to ensure they meet contemporary ethical standards and comply with all applicable laws and regulations. These goals are achieved through education, prospective review of research protocols, consultation with investigators, and ongoing monitoring of approved studies. The ORP comprises eight principal units: Human Research Protection, Animal Research Protection, Clinical Research Support, Institutional Biosafety, Radiation Safety, Research Security & Trade Compliance, Conflict of Interest, and Research Integrity.
Bill Yates is also a Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology in the School of Medicine, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Neuroscience in the Kenneth P. Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences. He held continuous NIH R01 funding from 1990 through 2024 for research examining vestibular system influences on autonomic regulation. He currently serves as a multiple Principal Investigator on an NIH T32 training grant focused on the education and training of graduate students in vestibular and auditory research.
In addition to his research and administrative roles, Dr. Yates has been extensively involved in the education of undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, and has received numerous teaching awards in recognition of his contributions.
Dr. Yates joined the University of Pittsburgh in 1994 after serving on the faculty at The Rockefeller University in New York City. He earned his PhD in neuroscience from the University of Florida in 1986.
Contributions to Science
Vestibular Influences on Cardiovascular Regulation
For 34 years, the NIH funded our studies on the influence of the vestibular system on cardiovascular regulation. At the time we initiated these studies, there was rudimentary evidence that inputs from the vestibular system affect sympathetic nervous system activity, but our work was instrumental in defining the physiological role of the vestibular system in regulating blood distribution during movement and posture changes. We also determined the neural pathways through which vestibulo-sympathetic interactions occur. Our work has been a springboard for studies by a number of investigators, who have demonstrated the physiological importance of vestibulo-cardiovascular influences in a variety of species, including humans.
Neurobiology of Motion Sickness
Another theme of our work since 1993 is the neurobiology of motion sickness. We are among the few laboratories that use modern neuroanatomical techniques and single-unit recordings to elucidate the neural circuitry that generates nausea and vomiting. As part of this work, we employed transneuronal tracing techniques soon after their inception to determine the pathways that elicit the co-contraction of respiratory muscles that result in emesis. Using a novel statistical approach to analyze Fos labeling patterns, we also identified the neuronal networks activated during motion sickness. Other experiments focused on the integration of emetic signals by brainstem neurons that mediate nausea and vomiting.
Multisensory Integration of Signals by the Vestibular System
My third long-standing research theme is multisensory integration by the vestibular system. We have demonstrated that somatosensory and visceral signals from all body regions shape the responses of vestibular nucleus and cerebellar neurons to labyrinthine inputs. As part of this work, we also demonstrated that nonlabyrinthine inputs can substitute for lost vestibular signals following a bilateral labyrinthectomy. Although a number of laboratories have investigated neck afferent influences on the processing of vestibular signals, few other than ours have considered the effects of sensory inputs from other body regions on the activity of vestibulospinal pathways.
Research Ethics
A fourth contribution to science has been in the arena of research ethics. I have contributed a number of lectures and manuscripts to the topic, particularly in relation to balancing regulatory burden with regulatory compliance. Another interest has been improving strategies that regulatory offices can employ to maintain good relationships with investigators. These strategies were formulated while I served as Chair of the University of Pittsburgh's IACUC and Co-Director of the University's Research Conduct and Compliance Office. A more recent interest is publication ethics, which emerged from my role as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Neurophysiology and Experimental Brain Research.