Team
Meet the team
Principal Investigator
Email: rhys.morgan@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1273877861
Address: Office 3C19, JMS Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG
Twitter page: @RhysMorganLab
ORCID ID: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0429-6294
Dr. Morgan completed his BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Portsmouth before completing a PhD in Experimental Haematology at Cardiff University. His thesis examined the role of a Wnt signalling protein (γ-catenin) in AML under the supervision of Professors Alan Burnett, Richard Darley and Alex Tonks. From here Rhys joined the School of Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol to pursue his interests in signal transduction and cancer biology. Under the supervision of Professors Christos Paraskeva and Ann Williams he undertook post-doctoral studies investigating the role of the stem cell marker LGR5 and Wnt/EGF signal transduction in colorectal cancer.
Whilst at Bristol, Rhys was awarded a prestigious Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund (KKLF) Junior Fellowship in 2016 targeting Wnt/β-catenin signalling in AML which remains his primary research focus. In 2018 Rhys moved his fellowship to the School of Life Sciences at the University of Sussex to establish his own leukaemia research laboratory and is now a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science in the department of Biochemistry & Biomedicine.
Research Fellow
Dr Megan Wagstaff (maternity leave until June 2024)
Email: m.wagstaff@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1273873610 (Office) +44 (0)1273878683 (Lab)
Address: Office 3C18A, JMS Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG
Megan graduated with a first class honors in Biochemistry from the University of Essex. She joined the lab in October 2018 completing a PhD examining novel β-catenin protein interactions in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) alongside teaching and outreach duties in the School of Life Sciences. Megan has now passed her viva and is a post-doc in the group continuing to investigate dysregulated Wnt/β-catenin signalling in AML where she has signfificant responsibilties in the day to day running of the lab and research/undergraduate student supervision.
Research Fellow
Email: a.goff@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1273873610 (Office) +44 (0)1273878683 (Lab)
Address: Office 3C18A, JMS Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG
Aaron graduated with a first-class honours in Biological Sciences from the University of Plymouth, followed by a Masters of Research specialising in microbiology from the University of Southampton. He completed a PhD in 2022 at the Brighton & Sussex Medical School characterising the physiology of in vivo Mycobacterium tuberculosis using a transcriptomics approach, for novel drug discovery. He joined the lab in January 2024 and is investigating β-catenin interactions with RNA binding proteins (RBP) and RNA with aim of designing new therapeutics for AML treatment.
PhD Student
Email: S.Olaitan@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1273872626 (Office) +44 (0)1273878683 (Lab)
Address: Office 3C22, JMS Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG
Samuel is a lecturer from Lagos State University who secured a TET (Tertiary Education Training) funded scholarship from the Nigerian government to study with us. He joined the lab in October 2020 and his thesis will examine Wnt signalling events at the cell membrane of myeloid leukaemia cells, with the ultimate aim of discovering new immunotherapeutic targets.
PhD Student
Mr Okan Sevim
Email: os254@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1273872626 (Office) +44 (0)1273878683 (Lab)
Address: Office 3C22, JMS Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG
Okan is a Turkish Ministry of National Education sponsored PhD student who graduated from Cumhuriyet University with a first class major in Molecular Biology & Genetics and double first class major in Biochemistry. He recently completed the Cancer Cell Biology MSc from University of Sussex with Distinction where he undertook a research project in the Morgan group. He will join the lab in May 2021 and his thesis will examine the role of β-catenin in post-transcriptional gene expression and RBP networks in AML.
PhD Student/Clinical Fellow
Dr Hyun Park
Email: h.park@bsms.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1273872626 (Office) +44 (0)1273878683 (Lab)
Address: Office 3C22, JMS Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG
Hyun is a clinician who has completed the Foundation Programme, and is currently working at the CIRU (Clinical Investigation and Research Unit) at the Royal Sussex County Hospital. Dr Park studied medicine at Imperial College London with an intercalated BSc in Medical Sciences with Haematology. To support his progression into Haematology specialist training Hyun is undertaking a jointly supervised PhD project between Prof Timothy Chevassut and Dr Rhys Morgan targeting novel β-catenin interactions in AML cells.
PhD Student/Haematology Registrar
Dr David Palmer
Email: bsms9xy2@sussex.ac.uk
Phone: +44 (0)1273872626 (Office) +44 (0)1273878683 (Lab)
Address: Office 3C22, JMS Building, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton, BN1 9QG