For decades, Dr. Morris has led pioneering efforts to diagnose Alzheimer’s disease earlier and develop new treatments for the disease. Among other accomplishments, he and his research team refined the Clinical Dementia Rating system, which was first developed at Washington University in the early 1980s. Clinicians use this tool to identify people with dementia and track the severity of the disease over time.
An international leader in Alzheimer’s disease research, Dr. Morris has received the Alzheimer’s Association’s Medical and Scientific Award (2013); the Potamkin Prize for Research in Pick’s, Alzheimer’s, and Related Diseases (2005); and the Met Life Award for Medical Research in Alzheimer’s Disease (2004). In 2010, he was awarded Washington University’s Carl and Gerty Cori Faculty Achievement Award.
Dr. Morris earned his bachelor’s degree at Ohio Wesleyan University and his medical degree at
the University of Rochester School of Medicine & Dentistry. After completing residencies in internal medicine and neurology, he came to Washington University in 1982 as a postdoctoral fellow in neuropharmacology and joined the university’s faculty in 1984.