Stories from the Front Lines of COVID-19 - Dr. Cynthia Morris

By Emma Aitken

Over the coming months, Women in Science Portland will be highlighting scientists and healthcare workers who are on the front lines of COVID-19 treatment and research. These amazing people are working tirelessly to advance our knowledge of COVID-19, sometimes putting their own lives at risk, to ensure that care is available to our community when we most need it.

Today we are highlighting Dr Cynthia Morris, Professor and Vice Chair of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology at OHSU and the co-principal investigator of the Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute (OCTRI). 

What is the most rewarding aspect of your role as Professor and Vice Chair of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology at OHSU and the co-principal investigator of the OCTRI?

Over the last 15 years, our goal in OCTRI is to train faculty and fellows in clinical and translational research, and remove barriers and create efficiencies to implement research that can rapidly affect clinical practice.  We have spent the past decade preparing for this moment in time. It is so gratifying to work alongside colleagues to break down barriers and implement research in record time that will be able to change clinical practice of COVID-19 in months rather than years. So many fellows and faculty members that we have trained in OCTRI are now on the frontlines of providing care and are using their research skills to generate new knowledge about this virus. 

How has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your role?

As the co-principal investigator of OCTRI, I have been working with our research teams to rapidly pivot to prioritize research at OHSU in COVID-19 that aims to better understand the prevalence of infection in the community, management of patients who present for care, and to find effective therapies to treat those with infection and critical illness. At the same time, I have been working with existing clinical research projects to modify as needed to continue critical clinical research while minimizing risk of infection to research participants and researchers. And at the same time, we have had to convert all our education to an online, remote format and continue providing career development. I am not sure that I ever remember such a busy period of time, but so fulfilling! We just don’t have the luxury of working slowly…we must spend all our time and efforts to have an effect on this pandemic now.

Could you describe some of the major projects underway at OHSU that are aimed at tackling COVID-19?

At the most recent count, OHSU has registered more than 150 separate projects at different phases of development on SARS-CoV2 virus and COVID-19 illness.  My purview is in clinical research in particular. Let me tell you about one study that will begin next week after a record implementation process of a couple weeks. We have partnered with colleagues in emergency medicine at OHSU to understand how symptoms, risk factors, and clinical presentation can best define the profile of patients who may need to be admitted to the hospital versus discharged home safely. Our intent is to collect information from patients at five emergency departments across Oregon and follow up for at least a month to better understand how the illness progresses. We are also contributing data to a nationwide registry of emergency department patients for a similar purpose.

Do you have a message for the WIS PDX community?

Every single one of us has unique skills and talent that is truly needed at this time. No matter the role you are playing in ongoing COVID-19 research - caring for patients, homeschooling your kids, helping elders or those at risk in the community, or just staying home - we all have an important role in public discourse. As women in science, we can keep up to date on the science of COVID-19, communicate the importance of public health, and urge others to act rationally based upon facts not hunches.

Please join us in helping to provide Personal Protective Equipment for our healthcare heroes during this critical shortage. There are several options for donating through GetUsPPE.org, including donating PPE, funds, or joining the Maker Force to help with mask making efforts and other maker-made PPE.

If you would like us to highlight any individuals working on the front lines of COVID-19, please let us know by emailing info@womeninscieincepdx.org.