Morgan Glass

Smiling woman with long brown hair

Program: Biological and Biomedical Sciences 
Lab: Sandra McAllister

Morgan is a second year PhD student in Harvard’s BBS program. 

Originally from West Virginia, Morgan earned her degree in Biochemistry from West Virginia University, where she investigated drug-delivery across the blood-brain barrier. Following graduation, she completed a postbaccelaureate fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, studying the role of perivascular cells in pre-metastatic microenvironments. Now in Dr. Sandra McAllister’s Lab at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Morgan is interested in investigating cancer as a systemic disease, with a focus on how declining immune fitness with age influences metastatic progression in breast cancer. 

Morgan got involved in LCBC because it’s a fun way to meet and engage with other cancer-focused PhD students, but also because she believes that community and communication across cancer biologists is an important part of generating meaningful discoveries as a field.

If you weren’t a scientist, what would you be? I’ve always said that my dream job would be to play the cello for movie scores, but I'm definitely more talented with a pipette, so I’ll stick to science!

What is one thing that instantly makes your day better? Spotting a wild turkey roaming the streets of Boston

What is something that you collect? I’m oddly talented at spotting four-leaf clovers and have a collection of over 100. 

What is the best advice you have ever received? On opportunities you aren't sure you're ready for: You can't be the one to take yourself out of the running — you have to just go for it and make someone else tell you no.

If you were a piece of lab equipment, which would you be? An Erlenmeyer flask because its "Glass" and reliable

What inspired your career in science? I first became interested in science through my grandfather who was a science teacher and through TV shows like Animal Planet’s Most Extreme. I like to think about cancer as an "extreme" type of human cell biology.

What is your favorite season? Winter — going somewhere with snow was actually a big part of my PhD application criteria!

Fiction or nonfiction? I always trend toward non-fiction — there are so many unique stories to learn in our weird world.