Our Team

Dr. Stephanie Morris is the Director of Life Sciences at the John Templeton Foundation. In this role, she is responsible for developing and executing strategic plans to support basic research grants in the origins of life and genetics.

Prior to joining the Foundation, Dr. Morris served as a program director at the National Human Genome Research Institute, where she oversaw the Institute’s Genome Technology Program, Centers of Excellence in Genomic Science Program, and the Impact of Genomic Variation on Function Program. Previously, she also served as a Program Director in the NIH Office of the Director and the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Strategic Scientific Initiatives. Dr. Morris received a B.A. in Biology and Neuroscience and Behavior from Wesleyan University, a Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the National Cancer Institute. She had co-edited a book on nanotechnology, Nanotheranostics for Cancer Applications, and published articles on nanotechnology and epigenomics.