Meredith T. Morris

Assistant Professor

Email:  mmorri3@clemson.edu

Education:

Ph.D., Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Georgia, 2000

B.S., Biology, Virginia Tech, 1995

Kinetoplastid parasites cause a number of diseases that affect more than 70 people annually. Among this family are Trypanosoma brucei, Trypanosoma cruzi and Leishmania spp, which cause human African trypanosomiasis, Chagas disease, and visceral, cutaneous and mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, respectively. There are no vaccines against these diseases and the current treatments are toxic and difficult to administer, making the search for new drug targets essential. In the search for new therapeutics we investigate essential parasite-specific processes, with the belief that understanding these processes will enable us to specifically target the parasite during treatments while leaving the host relatively unaffected. Kinetoplastid parasites harbor unique organelles, glycosomes, which are essential to parasite survival. The pathways that regulate glycosome biology are rich with potential drug targets. We use a number of biochemical and cell biology approaches to elucidate the mechanisms involved in glycosome biogenesis, maturation, maintenance and remodeling.

See Meredith in this interesting and educational video.