Cynthia Casson Morton, PhD
William Lambert Richardson Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Professor of Pathology
Harvard Medical School
Director of Cytogenetics
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Cynthia Casson Morton received her Bachelor’s of Science degree from the College of William and Mary in Virginia and her Ph.D. in Human Genetics from the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. Dr. Morton is certified by the American Board of Medical Genetics in Ph.D. Medical Genetics, Clinical Cytogenetics and Clinical Molecular Genetics. Her research interests are in molecular cytogenetics, hereditary deafness, genetics of uterine leiomyomata and human developmental disorders. She has published over 275 original articles.
As Director of Cytogenetics, Dr. Morton has implemented the use of next-generation sequencing to provide nucleotide resolution of balanced chromosomal rearrangements detected in the prenatal setting. Her laboratory has been a major site for training laboratory geneticists in clinical cytogenetics.
Dr. Morton served as Director of the Biomedical Research Institute (BRI) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. She is a Member of three of its Centers:
- Cancer Research Center
- BWH Genomics Center
- Connors-BRI Center for Research on Women’s Health & Gender Biology
Dr. Morton served as President of the American Society of Human Genetics in 2014. She was a member of the Board of Directors of the Society and completed a six year tenure as Editor of its journal, The American Journal of Human Genetics. She is currently a member of the Counsel of Scientific Trustees of the Hearing Health Foundation, and Chair of the Veteran’s Administration Genomic Medicine Program Advisory Committee.
She also is a past member of the Board of Directors of the American Board of Medical Genetics where she served as Secretary, Treasurer and Chair of the Accreditation Committee. She was the Chair of the Molecular Genetic Pathology Policy and Exam Committees of the American Board of Medical Genetics and the American Board of Pathology. She served as Member and Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and as Member and Chair of the Board of Regents of the National Library of Medicine.
Please click here to see Dr. Morton’s list of publications.