Morgan Ritter Barnes, BS, PhD

My biggest professional achievement since graduation is the recent publication of a review paper titled, “Palmitoyl-Protein Thioesterase-1 in health and disease” in the journal Trends in Pharmacological Sciences. This review highlights the importance of Palmitoyl-Protein Thioesterase-1 in not only the rare disease it was first implicated in (Batten Disease, CLN1) but also its role as a potential target for other neurodegenerative, autoimmune and reproductive diseases. A key takeaway from this review is the importance of pursuing rare disease research as it could have additional beneficial effects for the general population.

The best part of PMY was the Toxicology lab course which specifically ignited my interest in becoming a scientist.

I would tell my younger PMY self that she should continue to try new things and stay curious. I would also emphasize that finding a mentor is very important.

PMY encouraged me to think with a multidisciplinary mindset. This approach to thinking has been very important throughout my journey, especially as a scientist.

Since I was young, I have always been fascinated by the human body and how it functions. I have always dreamed of helping people by developing therapeutics. I am ecstatic to be a part of a team that has those goals. I am especially honored to contribute to a project developing a therapeutic for a rare pediatric disorder called Batten disease.

I would love to teach a class/lab on common assays used in molecular biology labs. We would read protocols, run assays and importantly learn how to troubleshoot the assays if something doesn’t work properly.

My family thinks my work is “something very smart” and that I am a “fish scientist.” Fortunately, I am still working with the animal model, zebrafish, I used during my graduate program. I am currently in the process of developing a transgenic zebrafish model to hopefully replicate CLN1 Batten disease, so “fish scientist” isn’t too far off.