Jill A Morris, PhD

Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Feinberg School of Medicine

Program in Human Molecular Genetics
Children's Memorial Research Center

Research Interests:
Some mental disorders such as bipolar affective disorder and schizophrenia have clear genetic contributions. Both are polygenic disorders and they have genetic heterogeneity; that is, the susceptibility genes for these diseases may differ among populations. These factors along with inconsistent/inaccurate diagnosis have made the identification of susceptibility genes difficult. However, with the completion of the human genome project, innovations in genomic technologies and recent discoveries by investigators in psychiatric genetics, clear advances are being made in candidate gene identification. The research interests of Dr. Jill Morris’ laboratory have centered on candidate gene discovery and characterization with the goal being to determine what role these genes and the proteins they encode play in the pathogenesis of mental disorders.

Dr. Morris is currently directing the research on characterizing candidate genes involved in schizophrenia. One candidate gene that her research is currently focused on is Disrupted-in-Schizophrenia 1 (DISC1). Mutations in DISC1 have been shown to segregate with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, depression and bipolar disorder. Her group has been investigating the expression and potential function of DISC1. They have demonstrated that DISC1 interacts with several centrosome and microtubule associated proteins involved in intracellular transport, neurite outgrowth and migration. In neuronal cell lines, the mutated DISC1 causes phenotypic changes, including decreased neurite outgrowth and changes in the intracellular distribution of DISC1. In order to further examine the mechanistic hypotheses of DISC1, the Morris laboratory proposes to investigate the role of DISC1 in neurite outgrowth and migration through the generation of animal models (zebrafish and mouse). These animals will be useful to study not only schizophrenia, but also additional psychiatric disorders, such as, bipolar and depression. As a result, the knowledge gained from this research will be valuable for understanding the molecular basis underlying psychiatric disorders and for identifying new treatments for affected individuals.