Dr. Samantha Morris is an Associate Professor of Genetics and Developmental Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. Her research focuses on generating clinically valuable cells, understanding cell fate decision-making, and engineering cell identity. She developed the CellNet platform for accurate cell fate evaluation through gene regulatory network reconstruction. Her work compares directed differentiation and direct conversion approaches, highlighting the challenges in achieving fully specified cells. Dr. Morris's research involves transplanting engineered cells into in vivo niches, using single-cell transcriptomics to understand reprogramming and maturation, and aiming to apply insights to better human disease models and therapeutic strategies.