Professor Emma Morris, MB BChir, MA, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath, FMedSci

Advisor

Professor Morris is currently Director of UCL’s Division of Infection and Immunity, and will succeed Professor Mark Emberton, who completes his term as Dean this year.

An expert in the genetic modification of immune cells and stem cells to tackle cancer and inborn errors of immunity, Professor Morris joined UCL in 2005 as a Principal Investigator and Group Leader, becoming Professor of Clinical Cell and Gene Therapy in 2015 and then Director of the Division in 2019.

In her role as Director, Professor Morris is responsible for leading over 350 academic and professional services staff. The division has a strong international focus through the Africa Health Research Institute, a collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal and the Wellcome Trust. Professor Morris’s pragmatic and people-centred leadership is credited for building a greater sense of unity and cohesion within the Division.

As a clinician, Professor Morris is a world leader in the fields of allogeneic stem cell transplantation and gene therapy, with honorary consultant positions at both University College London Hospital and the Royal Free Hospital, two of UCL’s major NHS partners.

In addition to her focus on academic and clinical leadership, she is also active in the research commercialisation space, being a scientific founder of spinout company Quell Therapeutics Ltd, which is developing gene-engineered regulatory T cells for transplant tolerance and autoimmunity.