Mark Morrison

Professor Morrison has a career-long focus studying the gastrointestinal microbiota of humans and other animals. He is Chair of Microbial Biology and Metagenomics at the University of Queensland Frazer Institute, and science lead for the Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology. Morrison is recognized worldwide for his abilities to bring microbial genomes to life, with translation into novel diagnostic, organismal, and enzyme/bioactive technologies. In the USA, he led the multi-centre consortium that produced the first genome sequences for gut Ruminococcus and Prevotella spp. On return to Australia his contributions include studies with clinician scientists key to the establishment of the concept of microbial “dysbiosis” as a hallmark of inflammatory bowel diseases. His team also produced a world-first use of metagenomic data and genome assembly to enable the isolation of a “new” bacterium from a species-rich microbial community. At UQ and as part of the NHMRC Centre for Research Excellence in Digestive Health he has developed approaches enabling the quantification and cultivation of the specialised microbial communities adherent to mucosal tissue at different gut segments, and further revealing the role of the microbiota in the diagnosis and treatment of digestive diseases and disorders.