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Running two labs, a household of four and scoring a Furla handbag at a Costco price are all in a day's work for Cynthia C. Morton, PhD, director of Cytogenetics at BWH and an associate director of Harvard-Partners Center for Genetics and Genomics.
Even more will be added to her day as Morton was selected to take on the prestigious role of editor at the American Journal of Human Genetics-making her the first woman to do so.
Morton is well practiced in her many leadership roles at BWH, but as she takes the helm at the American Journal of Human Genetics, she admits to being both “scared and thrilled.”
Morton understands that her peers will scrutinize changes in the journal's scope and direction during her five-year term as editor, beginning in July, when planning begins for Morton's inaugural January 2006 issue. Some changes will be obvious. For starters, she's committed to redesigning the cover, a task the current editor had placed on her plate. “I'm thinking of pink,” she joked.
It is her trademark sense of humor that keeps Morton focused among all of her demanding roles. She explains that her priorities, family and work, are also her hobbies, and she passionately commits herself to both.
“Cynthia Morton epitomizes the best of nearly everything,” said Michael Brenner, MD, chair of the Research Council and co-chair of the Research Institute Steering Committee. “She contributes to our institution at many levels, from running Cytogenetics to conducting outstanding research to contributing on key committees, including Genetics and the Research Institute Planning Group.”
The author of more than 400 reports, books and abstracts, Morton is currently heading up three research projects: identifying and characterizing genes involved in hearing (her expertise is contributing to formulating national standards for implementing genetic testing in newborn hearing screening); determining genes underlying human developmental disorders from chromosomal abnormalities; and finding genes that cause uterine fibroids (she's already located three).
Morton's professional motivation stems from the rewarding nature of her work. “There's immediate satisfaction on the clinical side in working out a diagnosis for a patient,” she said. With research, the gratification is delayed, but well worth it when it comes, she said. “It's the thrill of discovery,” said Morton, who recently returned from Beijing, where she vacationed with her husband, two children and a colleague on a practical whim, and made time for two lectures at Peking Union Medical College.
“Trips to Asia were on sale,” she explained.