Andrew Morris

Andrew Morris, Ph.D., is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine. He holds the Mehta/Stebbins Chair in Cardiovascular Research and serves as a Research Career Scientist at the Central Arkansas VA Healthcare System.

• B.Sc. First Class Honours in Biochemistry, University of Bristol (1984)
• Ph.D. in Biochemistry, University of Birmingham (1988)
• Postdoctoral Research: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1988-1992)

Morris's research bridges biochemical, molecular genetic, and population health approaches to study interactions between genetic, behavioral, and environmental risk factors for non-communicable diseases. His lab identified PLPP3 as a heritable risk factor for coronary artery disease, revealing its protective role against atherosclerosis through lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) inactivation. Recent work explores PFAS exposure in military populations and TMAO as a microbial metabolite linked to metabolic dysfunction.

Key research trends include lipid signaling in cardiovascular pathologies (e.g., aortic aneurysms, calcific valve disease) and environmental chemical biomonitoring (PFAS, dioxins). His lab utilizes biomedical mass spectrometry for lipidomics, metabolomics, and stable isotope tracing in preclinical and human studies.

Morris's laboratory is funded by grants from the Veterans Health Administration, NIH, and Department of Defense. He leads an analytical lab supporting population health studies like the Millennium Cohort and Million Veteran Program, focusing on environmental health impacts in veterans and military personnel.

• Labs/Teams: Central Arkansas VA Healthcare System Analytical Laboratory