Cynthia D. Morris, PhD, MPH .  Dr. Morris is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology at Oregon Health & Science University and is Director of the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute and PI of the NIH CTSA grant to OHSU. She has a long record of education leadership and workforce development in clinical and translational research. Dr. Morris developed the Master of Clinical Research degree program that is at the heart of the OCTRI workforce development program that has now trained more than 1,400 faculty, fellows, and professional students in clinical and translational research competencies. She developed the TL1 and KL2 training grants that provide clinical and translational research training in an Oregon research-intensive university consortium.  She has received more than 10 years of funding primarily from NIH to create a new model for training for disadvantaged and underrepresented undergraduate students at Portland State University and OHSU that has included more than 600 students in authentic research experiences.

Dr. Morris has a rich history of mentorship of more than 40 F, T, and K awardees.  She has received the highest awards in education and mentoring in Oregon and the Distinguished Educator Award from the Association for Clinical and Translational Science.  

As an active clinical trialist, Dr. Morris has a mature research program that includes leadership and coordination of more than 15 clinical trials, mostly multicenter, using innovative methods, and funded by NIH. This includes 2 multicenter trials that use resilience coaching and mindfulness training after discharge from the ICU for critical illness (LIFT trial, pending final approval at NCCIH as of 7/24).  As director of OCTRI, Dr. Morris leads a large NIH-funded infrastructure grant that promotes research innovation and translational science.  This includes development of the translational workforce; development of innovative research methodologies for community engagement, patient recruitment, and data science; and guiding the development of early career researchers using research best practices.