Education

• PhD, Biology, Clark Atlanta University, 5/2016
• BS, Biology, Eastern Kentucky University, 5/2009

Research

• RNA Biology
• Molecular Neuroscience
• Drosophila
• Brain Organoids

Overview

The primary research goal of the Morton lab is to study the fundamental mechanisms of post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression with an emphasis on RNA processing factors mutated in complex brain disorders. Specifically, the lab is interested in the post-transcriptional activities of a multi-subunit RNA processing enzyme, the RNA exosome complex, in human neurodevelopment and disease. The Morton Lab has taken the strategy of coupling in vivo Drosophila genetics with in vitro human iPSC-derived brain organoid models to understand how defects in subunits of the ubiquitous and essential RNA exosome complex cause tissue-specific consequences.