Originally from Michigan, Dr. Morris received his BS in Microbiology from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI and his MD and PhD degrees from Wayne State University in Detroit, MI. His PhD thesis work in the laboratory of Yi-chi Kong PhD focused on regulatory T cell function related to autoimmune thyroid disease. Dr. Morris moved to Saint Louis, MO for his post-graduate training at Washington University, which included residency in Clinical Pathology, fellowship training in histocompatibility and transplant immunology with Thalachallour Mohanakumar PhD, and post-doctoral research with Paul M Allen PhD studying T cell alloreactivity. Dr. Morris moved to UC San Diego in 2013 to become the Director of the UC San Diego Immunogenetics and Transplantation Laboratory. In addition to providing cutting-edge diagnostic testing to support the hematopoietic stem cell, kidney, lung, and heart transplant programs at UC San Diego and Rady Children's Hospital, Dr. Morris maintains an active independent research laboratory.
The Morris Laboratory studies the immunology of transplantation, particularly as related to pathologic responses causing graft versus host disease or transplant rejection. These studies build from Dr. Morris' long-standing interest in questions related to immunologic tolerance, T cell receptor (TCR) function, and T lymphocyte development, and are moved forward by the interests and expertise of the group of students, research associates, and post-doctoral researchers in the laboratory. We apply cutting-edge technologies including CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, retroviral expression systems, single-cell RNA sequencing, confocal microscopy, and high-parameter flow cytometry to studies of cell culture, mouse models, and primary human samples to pursue these investigations.