Email
morgans@bcm.edu
Positions
- Grad Student
-
Genetics & Genomics
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US
Education
- BS from Virginia Tech
-
05/2019 -
Blacksburg, Virginia United States
- Biology, Animal and Poultry Sciences
Professional Statement
As a Genetics and Genomics graduate student studying in the laboratory of Dr. Juan Botas at the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute of TCH, I have been able to combine my passion for learning with the translational implementation of neurodegenerative research and intervention.
My thesis work centers around investigating genetic components of the actin cytoskeleton remodeling pathway and its implication in the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and Huntington’s Disease. Combining Drosophila, mice, and human neural stem cells, we are able to combine high-throughput screening technologies to propose candidate modifier to further investigate mechanistically in our mammalian systems.
While each of the three diseases have very distinct etiologies, genetic risk factors, and phenotypic presentations, by focusing on the hallmark pathologies shared between the diseases we are able to understand biological similarities among neurodegenerative diseases and identify therapeutic targets that could treat a myriad of fatal conditions.
