Maria Morasso PhD

Maria I. Morasso, Ph.D., is chief of the Laboratory of Skin Biology in the Intramural Research Program at the NIAMS. She received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Investigations. Dr. Morasso started at the NIH as a post-doctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Thomas Sargent in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. In May 2000, she became a tenure-track investigator and head of the Developmental Skin Biology Unit. Since May 2008, Dr. Morasso has been Chief of the Developmental Skin Biology Section and of the Laboratory of Skin Biology.

She also serves as an adjunct investigator in the Center for Cancer Research in the National Cancer Institute. In her interview, Dr. Morasso discusses the influences in her career choice, the importance of mentoring and what she finds most rewarding about being a scientist.