J. William (Bill) Costerton is a Canadian microbiologist who has pioneered the recognition of bacterial biofilms as the dominant mode of growth of bacteria, and who first demonstrated their importance in the resistance of bacteria to antibacterial agents and the persistence of some chronic bacterial infections.

Costerton was born in Vernon, British Columbia. His early education was in that province. In 1955, he received a B.S. in bacteriology and immunology from the University of British Columbia, followed by a M.S. in the same discipline from UBC in 1956. He then studied in the laboratory of Dr. Robert Murray at the University of Western Ontario in London, Ontario, where he received a Ph.D. in 1960. Following post-doctoral training at Cambridge University, Costerton moved to MacDonald College of McGill University, in the Canadian province of Quebec, where he became first a Professional Associate in 1966 then an Assistant Professor in...