Morgan O’Hayre, Ph.D.

Dr. Morgan O’Hayre received her Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the University of California, San Diego, where she investigated the role of chemokines and chemokine receptors in cancer cell survival and metastasis, under the supervision of Dr. Tracy Handel. Dr. O’Hayre then conducted post‐doctoral research in Dr. Silvio Gutkind’s lab in the intramural research program at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). During her postdoc, Dr. O’Hayre characterized G‐protein coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling pathways in the context of normal cell function and disease states including cancer. Prior to her current position as a Program Director in the Preclinical Therapeutics Grants Branch at the National Cancer Institute, Dr. O’Hayre was a health science policy analyst and special assistant to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research director. Dr. O’Hayre’s programmatic research interests include preclinical cancer therapeutics research focused on cancer stem cells, cancer metabolism, ovarian cancers, and hematologic malignancies. She also coordinates the Developmental Therapeutics Program Drug Development Consultation Service and the Stepping Stones Program to help investigators advance their small molecule lead candidates toward the clinic.