<p>A University of Maryland educator and public health research scientist has been named director of the Emerging Pathogens Institute at the University of Florida.</p>
<p>Dr. J. Glenn Morris Jr., 55, will lead a campuswide effort to study and control new disease-causing microorganisms that can affect plants, animals and humans. West Nile virus and citrus canker are two such emerging pathogens that have affected Florida's public health and economy.</p>
<p>The announcement came Thursday afternoon from the office of Win Phillips, UF's vice president of research.</p>
<p>Morris is professor and chairman of the department of epidemiology and preventive medicine at the University of Maryland School of Public Health. He is also serving as the school's interim dean.</p>
<p>"Florida has laid the groundwork for a world-class institute in this critically important area," Morris said in accepting the UF position.</p>
<p>Plans for an Emerging Pathogens Institute at UF were developed last year, and the university has secured state funding for a 100,000-square-foot building that will house a number of researchers.</p>
<p>Morris holds a bachelor's degree from Rice University in Houston and a medical degree and master's degree in public health and tropical medicine from Tulane. His research, funded by the National Institutes of Health, focuses on viruses called bacteriophages that are able to invade bacterial cells and cause them to self-destruct.</p>
<p>"Glenn truly is really a top performer in his discipline," UF President Bernie Machen said. "His talent and the research team we already have in place puts UF's emerging pathogens program on the fast track.</p>