Dr Morgan completed his BSc in Biomedical Science at the University of Portsmouth, before completing a PhD in Haematology at Cardiff University in the world leading Haematology department of Professor Alan Burnett. His thesis examined the role of a Wnt signalling in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) under the supervision of Professors Alex Tonks and Richard Darley.
From here Rhys joined the School of Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol in 2013 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 the University of Bristol, Rhys was awarded a Kay Kendall Leukaemia Fund (KKLF) Fellowship in 2016 to examine Wnt/beta-catenin signalling in AML. In 2018 Dr Morgan joined the Department of Biochemistry and Biomedicine at the School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex to establish his own leukaemia research group.
From July 2019 he acquired tenure and continues his research into cell signalling and leukaemia where he has received further funding from the Royal Society, British Society for Haematology, the KKLF, Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK, Children's Cancer & Leukaemia Group, Cancer Research UK, Blood Cancer UK, the European Commission Horizons MSCA and Worldwide Cancer Research.
Dr Morgan is Co-Director of Sussex Blood Cancer Research, a group established in 2019 to bring together researchers from the School of Life Sciences and Brighton & Sussex Medical School with shared haematological research interests. Dr Morgan served on the Research Review Committee at Leukaemia & Myeloma Research UK between 2020-2026 and is a founding panel member of WntUK, a new scientific society established in 2023 to connect, showcase and progress Wnt signalling based research across the UK.
For more information see the Morgan Lab website.
Dr Morgan is an advocate of stem cell donation and continues to work with Anthony Nolan and Marrow to promote awareness and recruitment onto the bone marrow register. Read more about his recent stem cell donation which reached national news.
