Biosketch:
James Morris is currently a Professor of Genetics and Biochemistry at Clemson University.  He earned his BS at The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg VA in 1990 and a MS in Entomology at the University of Georgia in Athens GA in 1992.  He completed his PhD in Cellular Biology at the University of Georgia in 1997, characterizing the enzymology of a glycosylphosphatidylinositol phospholipase C from the African trypanosome, Trypanosoma brucei, under the supervision of Dr. Kojo Mensa-Wilmot.  Following his PhD, Jim moved to Baltimore MD to work in the laboratory of Dr. Paul T. Englund at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where he was part of the team that developed the first RNAi-based library for forward genetics in any organism – in this case the African trypanosome.  As part of this work, the team developed the vector pZJM (Jim is the “J”) that is still widely used for silencing genes in the parasite.

In 2003, Jim moved to Clemson University as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Genetics and Biochemistry, where he has remained to date.  His team has focused on resolving the mechanisms that protozoan parasites use to sense and metabolize the important sugar glucose during infection of their human host.  Through these studies, parasite-specific components of the sugar sensing and uptake pathway have been identified and, in an on-going collaborative effort, small molecule inhibitors of the pathways with anti-parasitic activity have been developed.  While his team has historically focused on the African trypanosome, more recent work on the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum and the brain eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri suggests that exploiting the sugar metabolism pathways of these single-celled invaders may also prove useful in the development of new therapeutics.

Research Summary:
James Morris is a founding member of EPIC.  His work focuses on resolving how protozoan parasites sense and metabolize the important sugar glucose during infection of their human host.  While his first love is the African trypanosome, he has recently initiated studies on the brain-eating amoeba Naegleria fowleri, a parasite that can be found in the pond that abuts his neighborhood.

Selected Publications:
Complete List of Published Work in My Bibliography: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/1DuTACUtryjky/bibliography/public/

1.     Call, D; Adjei, JA, Pilgrim, R, Jeong, JW, Willis, EV, Zegarra, RA, Osterhaus, M, Vance, JA, Votyon, CM, Call, JA, Pizarro; S; Morris, JC; Christensen, KA.  A Multiplexed High Throughput Screening Assay using Flow Cytometry Identifies Glycolytic Molecular Probes in Bloodstream Form Trypanosoma brucei.  The International Journal for Parasitology:  Drugs and Drug Resistance (2024) Dec 26, 100557.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpddr.2024.100557

2.     Lish, MS, Milanes, JE, Palmentiero, C, Pomeroy, J, Roster, C, Guzei, I, Morris, JC, Golden, JE.  Establishment and optimization of saturated 1,6-naphthyridine-fused quinazolinones that Inhibit meningoencephalitis-causing Naegleria fowleri (Accepted) Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

3.     Milanes, JE, Yan, VC, Pham, C-D, Muller, F, Kwain, S, Rees, KC, Dominy, BN, Whitehead, DC, Millward, SW, Bolejack, M, Abendroth, J, Phan, IQ, Staker, B, Moseman EA, Zhang, X, Xipeng, M, Jebet, A, Yin, X, Morris, JC.  Enolase inhibitors as therapeutic leads for Naegleria fowleri infection.  PLOS Pathogens (2024) 20(8): e1012412. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1012412

4.     Call, D*; Pizarro; S*;  Morris, MT; Tovey, E: Knight, E; Baumgardner, C; Christensen, KA;  Morris, JC.  Measuring dynamic glycosomal pH changes in living Trypanosoma brucei. JoVE (2024) Jan 19:(203):10.3791/66279

5.     Pomeroy, J; Khalifa, M; Milanes, J: Palmentiero, C; Morris, J, Golden, J.  Synthesis and evaluation of benzylamine inhibitors of neuropathogenic Naegleria fowleri “Brain-Eating Amoeba”. ACS Medicinal Chemistry Letters (2024), 15, 1, 87-92.

6.     Roster, CP; LaVigne D; Milanes, JE; Knight, E; Anderson ,HD; Pizarro; S;  Harding: EJ;  Morris, MT; Yan, VC;  Pham, CD; Muller, F; Kwain, S; Rees, KC; Dominy, B; Whitehead, DC;  Nasir Uddin, Md;  Millward, SW; Morris, JC.  Enolase inhibitors as early lead therapeutics against Trypanosoma brucei.  Pathogens (2023), 12 (11), 1290; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12111290 (registering DOI)