Allyson Michelle Morton

655 Huntington Ave, Bldg. 1-202A, Boston, MA 02215 | 336.813.2337 |

Education

Harvard University Cambridge, M

Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences in Public Health expected May 2017

· Specialization: Nutritional Biochemistry

· Dissertation: The effect of diet on the metabolism of human HDL apoA-I with and without apoE/apoCIII in vivo

o Adviser: Frank Sacks, MD

o Committee Members: Eric Rimm, ScD; David Cohen, MD, PhD; Robert Farese Jr, MD

Duke University Durham, NC

Bachelor of Science in Biology, with Distinction May 2012

· Concentration in Cell and Molecular Biology, Minor in Chemistry

La Universidad San Pablo CEU Madrid, Spain

Summer courses: Art, Music, and Literature for an Empire; May - June 2010

Modern and Contemporary Spanish History, Art, and Literature

Honors and Achievements

AM MORTON

iModules Scholarship (2014-2015)

Harvard University Provostial Fellowship Award (2013-2014)

Harvard School of Public Health, Division of Biological Sciences in Public Health Summer Intern – Wessling-Resnick Lab (2011)

Invitation to Duke Marine Lab Rachel Carson Scholars Program (2011)

Duke University Trinity College Undergraduate Research Grant (2010-2012)

Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research Fellow – Blobe Lab (2009)

AM MORTON

Research Experience

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Department of Nutrition, Boston, MA

PhD Researcher, Laboratory of Frank Sacks, MD January 2013 – present

Dissertation Project: The effect of diet on the metabolism of human HDL apolipoprotein A-I with and without apoE/apoCIII in vivo (2013-present)

· Study design: 20 subjects recruited to receive 4-week high fat/high carbohydrate diets in random crossover design, followed by bolus infusion of stable isotope tracer d3-leucine and blood collection regularly up to 94 hours

· Lab work includes isolation of human HDL apoA-I and separating into apoE- and/or apoCIII-containing fractions using sequential immunoaffinity column chromatography, size-separating HDL using nondenaturing polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis, purifying apoA-I using SDS-PAGE, hydrolysis/derivitization of amino acids, and GC-MS

· Have completed lab work for all project aims and have begun kinetic modeling, which will measure fractional catabolic rates and fluxes of each HDL subfraction and test models of biological significance

· Aim 1: Confirmed that apoA-I that resides on HDL particles containing apoE has a faster turnover than apoA-I on particles without apoE

· Aims 2 and 3 will consider the interplay between apoE and apoCIII and their roles in apoA-I metabolism, and test the effect of diet on the apoE/apoCIII-dependent metabolism of apoA-I

· Presented at the Kinetics and Metabolism Society 2015 meeting (oral presentation) at the Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology conference

Project: The effect of omega-3 carboxylic acids on apolipoprotein CIII-containing lipoproteins in severe hypertriglyceridemia (2014-2015)

· Study design: 273 subjects randomized to placebo, 2g or 4g omega-3 carboxylic acids over 12 weeks

· Lab work included isolating HDL from baseline and post-treatment samples by apoB precipitation, isolating LDL and VLDL by ultracentrifugation, and measuring the concentration of apoCIII in whole plasma, HDL, LDL, and VLDL, as well as the apoA-I and apoB concentrations of lipoproteins containing apoCIII, using ELISAs developed by our lab.

· Reported that treatment with omega-3 carboxylic acids reduced levels of apoCIII in whole plasma, HDL, and LDL. LDL with apoCIII, a particularly harmful subtype of LDL, was not affected by treatment. The subtype of LDL that was increased by treatment was LDL without apoCIII, which is not associated with adverse clinical outcomes.

· Presented at AHA Scientific Sessions 2014 (poster) and was the only graduate student chosen for an oral presentation at the International Symposium on Atherosclerosis (2015)

Undergraduate Research Fellow June 2009-May 2012

Laboratory of Gerard C. Blobe, MD, PhD

Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC

· Studied the role of the type III transforming growth factor-beta receptor (TβRIII) in the TGF-β signaling pathway in regulating the migration of human colon cancer cells.

· Used adenoviruses equipped with shRNA to knock down levels of TβRIII

· Performed in vitro assays to detect changes in cell morphology and to analyze cell motility

· Discovered that an increase in TβRIII was associated with an increase in ligand-mediated colon cancer cell migration. (2009-2010)

· Studied the effect of TβRIII on mediating non-canonical signaling pathways in human breast cancer.

· Western blot analysis was utilized to determine whether TβRIII regulates total and/or phosphorylated protein levels.

· Verified protein localization using cell fractionation and immunohistochemistry.

· Investigated TβRIII-mediated effects on pathway-specific biological processes such as cell proliferation and migration. (Senior Honors Thesis, 2011-2012)

Summer Intern June 2011-August 2011

Laboratory of Marianne Wessling-Resnick, Ph.D.

Department of Genetics & Complex Diseases, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA

· Investigated the direct influence of serum iron on LPL enzymatic activity using a fluorescence-based assay

· Studied the possible oxidative effect of divalent metals on VLDL using fresh serum from an animal model

· Used ultracentrifugation to isolate lipoproteins and gel electrophoresis to further separate

· Confirmed that high levels of serum iron were able to inhibit LPL activity.

Teaching Experience

Guest Lecturer, Food and Nutrition (Emerson College, Spring 2016)

· Course Instructor: Christin Gilmer

· Undergraduate course (25 students). Lectured on body mass index, overweight/obesity, underweight, and various eating disorders.

Teaching Assistant, The Science of Human Nutrition (HSPH, Spring 2014)

· Course Instructors: Frank Sacks and Clifford Lo

· Graduate level course (23 students). Planned and held weekly review sessions of course material covering topics of nutritional biochemistry including fatty acid metabolism, lipoprotein metabolism, glycolysis/Krebs cycle, and amino acid metabolism. Met one-on-one with students for additional support. Co-wrote and graded final exam.

Teaching Assistant, Food Science & Technology (HSPH, Fall 2013)

· Course Instructors: Clifford Lo and Guy Crosby

· Graduate level course (27 students). Graded homework and final presentations and answered questions about course material.

Tutor (8th grade science), Roxbury Prep Charter School, Boston, MA (2013-2014)

Tutor (Middle School), Emily Krzyzewski Family Life Center, Durham, NC (2010-2012)

Society Memberships/Leadership

· Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Student Government – Vice President of Student Life (2015-2016)

· Lab Mentor, Summer Program in Biological Sciences in Public Health (2015)

· Graduate Student Coordinator, Summer Program in Biological Sciences in Public Health (2013)

· Duke Undergraduate Research Society (2010-2012)

· Duke Biology Majors Union (2010-2012)

· Association for Women in Science (2011-present)

Additional Activities

· Committee on Educational Policy, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (2015-)

· Duke University Alumni Association Boston Women’s Forum Steering Committee (2014-)

· Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering – Mentoring Program Co-Chair (2014-2016)

· Harvard School of Public Health Student Advisory Committee on Education (2013-2015)

· Resident Community Advisor, Shattuck International House (2013-2015)

· Harvard Graduate Women in Science and Engineering – Board Member (2013-)

· Harvard School of Public Health, Student Government – Department Representative (2012-2013)

· SPIN Indoor Cycling Instructor (2012-2014)

· Duke University Marine Lab Ambassador (2011-present)

· Duke University First-Year Advisory Council (2009-2010)

· Crowell Quadrangle Council, Duke University (2009-2010)

Technical Expertise

AM MORTON

Research: Cell culture, Gel electrophoresis and Western blotting, Adenoviral infections, Transfections, Immunofluorescent staining and confocal fluorescent imaging, Fibronectin transwell motility assays, Monolayer wound healing motility assays, qPCR, rtPCR, ELISA, Immunoaffinity column chromatography

Statistical Analysis: STATA, Microsoft Excel

Peer-Reviewed Publications

1. Gatza CE, Holtzhausen A*, Kirkbride KC*, Morton A, Gatza ML, Datto MB, and Blobe GC. The Type III TGF-β Receptor Enhances Colon Cancer Cell Migration and Anchorage Independent Growth. Neoplasia 2011 Aug;13(8):758-70.

equal contributors

2. Mendivil C, Wang L, Morton AM, Furtado JD, Sacks FM. Novel pathways of apolipoprotein A-I metabolism in HDL of different sizes in humans. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2016 Jan;36(1):156-65.

3. Morton AM, Furtado JD, Lee J, Amerine W, Davidson MH, Sacks FM. The effect of omega-3 carboxylic acids on apolipoprotein CIII-containing lipoproteins in severe hypertriglyceridemia. J Clin Lipidol. 2016 Nov - Dec;10(6):1442-1451.e4.

Poster Presentations

1. Morton A, Gatza CE, Blobe GC. The effect of TβRIII on colon cancer cell migration. Howard Hughes Summer Intern Poster Session. Duke University, Durham, NC. July 31, 2009.

2. Morton AM, Jia X, Kim J, Wessling-Resnick M. The effect of iron loading on lipoprotein lipase and VLDL. Harvard School of Public Health Division of Biological Sciences in Public Health Poster Session, Boston, MA. August 10, 2011.

3. Morton AM, Jia X, Kim J, Wessling-Resnick M. The effect of iron loading on lipoprotein lipase and VLDL. Harvard Integrated Life Sciences Poster Session, Cambridge, MA. August 11, 2011.

4. Morton AM, Gatza CE, Blobe GC. The effect of TβRIII on mediating non-canonical signaling pathways in human breast cancer. Department of Biology Graduation with Distinction Poster Session. Duke University, Durham, NC. May 5, 2012.

5. Morton AM, Furtado JD, Talayero B, Robinson MK, Sacks FM. Can dysfunctional HDL types in obese be reversed by bariatric surgery? Biological Sciences in Public Health Retreat. Woods Hole, MA. April 4, 2013.

6. Morton AM, Furtado JD, Lee J, Amerine W, Davidson M, Sacks FM. The effect of omega-3 carboxylic acids on apolipoprotein CIII-containing lipoproteins in severe hypertriglyceridemia. AHA Scientific Sessions. Chicago, IL. November 16, 2014.

7. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE accelerates the clearance in vivo of apoA-Iin 4 sizes of HDL in humans. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. San Francisco, CA. May 8, 2015.

8. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE accelerates the clearance in vivo of apoA-Iin 4 sizes of HDL in humans. 17th International Symposium on Atherosclerosis. Amsterdam, the Netherlands. May 25, 2015.

9. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE accelerates the clearance in vivo of apoA-Iin 4 sizes of HDL in humans. Harvard Integrated Life Sciences 10th Anniversary Gathering. Boston, MA. October 8, 2015.

10. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE and apoCIII interact to modulate the metabolism of HDL apoA-I in humans. Gordon Research Conference on Lipoprotein Metabolism. Waterville Valley, NH. June 13, 2016.

Oral Presentations

1. Morton AM, Furtado JD, Talayero B, Robinson MK, Sacks FM. Can dysfunctional HDL types in obese be reversed by bariatric surgery? Biological Sciences in Public Health Assembly Day. Cambridge, MA. June 5, 2013.

2. Morton AM. To what degree can mouse models recapitulate weight loss in humans? A case study using ketogenic diets. Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Nutrition Seminar. Boston, MA. December 2, 2013.

3. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE accelerates the clearance in vivo of apoA-Iin 4 sizes of HDL in humans. Kinetics & Metabolism Society (American Heart Association). San Francisco, CA. May 6, 2015.

4. Morton AM, Furtado JD, Lee J, Amerine W, Davidson M, Sacks FM. The effect of omega-3 carboxylic acids on apolipoprotein CIII-containing lipoproteins in severe hypertriglyceridemia. 17th International Symposium on Atherosclerosis. Amsterdam, the Netherlands. May 25, 2015.

5. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE and apoCIII interact to modulate the metabolism of apoA-Iin 4 sizes of HDL in humans. Kinetics & Metabolism Society (American Heart Association). Nashville, TN. May 3, 2016.

6. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE and apoCIII interact to modulate the metabolism of apoA-Iin 4 sizes of HDL in humans. Arterioslerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (American Heart Association). Nashville, TN. May 5, 2016.

7. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE and apoCIII interact to modulate the metabolism of HDL apoA-I in humans. Gordon Research Seminar on Lipoprotein Metabolism. Waterville Valley, NH. June 11, 2016.

8. Morton AM, Mendivil CO, Wang L, Furtado JF, Sacks FM. ApoE and apoCIII interact to modulate the metabolism of HDL apoA-I in humans. Harvard School of Public Health, Department of Genetics and Complex Diseases Research in Progress Seminar. Boston, MA. September 21, 2016.

AM MORTON