Welcoming Dr Liz Morris

Dr Morris graduated from Cambridge University with a BA and MSci in Natural Sciences (Chemistry) in 2008 and completed her PhD (Chemistry) at the University of Nottingham in 2012 studying protein-RNA interactions relevant to Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection. As a post-doc at the University of Edinburgh she pursued her interest in protein-nucleic acid interactions and determined how transposases, such as those used as gene therapy tools, catalyse insertion of genes into chromosomal DNA. During a second post-doc, this time at the Francis Crick Institute in London, Dr Morris determined the catalytic mechanism of a human enzyme that restricts viruses such as HIV and Herpes Simplex virus. 

In 2022, Dr Morris took up a position as Assistant Professor of Biochemistry at Durham University where she is applying her structural biology and enzymological expertise to characterise viral replication mechanisms, such as those of flaviviruses.