Prof. Derek Morris

Professor Derek Morris is the lead for the IHDI Health-Based Challenge on Disorders of the Brain and Nervous System and serves as Head of the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences at the University of Galway. A leading authority in human genetics and psychiatric genomics, he is Professor of Human Genetics and Genomics within the University’s Centre for Neuroimaging, Cognition and Genomics (NICOG), where he has directed his research group since 2013.

Prof. Morris completed a BSc in Biotechnology at the University of Galway (1998) and a PhD in Molecular Genetics at Cardiff University (2001). Following a postdoctoral fellowship (2003) at Trinity College Dublin, he was appointed Lecturer in Molecular Psychiatry in 2006 before returning to Galway to establish a high-impact research programme focused on the genetic basis of psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.

His work centres on identifying both common and rare genetic variants that contribute to conditions such as schizophrenia, autism, and cognitive differences. He is particularly recognised for his contributions to major genome-wide association studies (GWAS) through international collaborations, and for advancing understanding of transcription factor genes that shape neurodevelopment and cognition. These research interests have produced over 270 publications, attracted more than €4 million in research funding, and led to influential discoveries that inform new biological pathways underlying brain function.

Prof. Morris is an active contributor to global research efforts through long-standing involvement in the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, with work featured in leading journals including Nature, Science, and Cell. He previously served as President of the Irish Society of Human Genetics (2014–2016) and Director of the Galway Neuroscience Centre (2021–2022). He was also the inaugural Programme Director for the BSc in Genetics and Genomics at the University of Galway, helping establish the programme in 2020.

His achievements have been widely recognised, including receiving the University of Galway President’s Award for Research Excellence (2017) and being named among the top 1% of Highly Cited Researchers worldwide in 2018 (Clarivate Analytics).