Research

Dr. Morris is focused on translational research in sickle cell disease and in asthma that impacts clinical care and contributes to a broader understanding of disease mechanisms.

Arginine Therapy in Sickle Cell Disease
Through previous research, Dr. Morris identified a new mechanism associated with the development of pulmonary hypertension and arginine deficiency in sickle cell disease. Further study of the underlying mechanism ultimately identified hemolysis as the main source of increased arginase activity (an arginine-consuming enzyme) in sickle cell disease, and linked this pathway to pulmonary hypertension and mortality. Following up on this novel mechanism, Dr. Morris is also the PI on a blinded placebo-controlled trial of intravenous arginine therapy for the treatment of vaso-occlusive crisis in patients with sickle cell disease admitted to CHO. This is an NHLBI-funded study that has enrolled 40 patients to date and is currently enrolling.

Additional Research
Dr. Morris is also undertaking additional research regarding the utility of novel tools and biomarkers in identifying severity of pulmonary artery hypertension in sickle cell disease. Preliminary data will be gathered on cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (cardiac MRI) and exercise echocardiography in both adults and children. The ability of Doppler echocardiography to identify children at risk for greater disease severity associated with elevated tricuspid regurgitant jet velocity and the potential link to arginine bioavailability will also be investigated.

As the Director of Fellowship Research for the Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) Fellowship at CHO, Dr. Morris is also involved in mentoring young investigators in research activities throughout their fellowship. Recent projects have included identifying serum biomarkers of serious bacterial infection in febrile pediatric patients presenting to the emergency department (ED), and assessing safe outpatient management of aseptic meningitis in the ED.