WT Shier obtained his PhD from the University of Illinois Champaign-Urbana in 1970. In his PhD research he discovered mutasynthesis, a method used to make antibiotic analogs like doramectin. He did postdoctoral studies with Robert Holley (Nobel, 1968) at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, LaJolla, California. He is a Professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Minnesota, where he has carried out research on cell killing mechanisms, mycotoxin control methods and root infection mechanisms.  He has 187 refereed research publications. He is Founding Editor of the journal Toxin Reviews, for which he served as Editor for 30 years.