Q&A with Morgan Mann, PhD, DABCC, assistant professor, Division of Genetics and Metabolism, and assistant director of newborn screening, Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene
Hometown: Thief River Falls, Minnesota
Educational/professional background: I have a BS from the University of Oklahoma and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. I completed a Clinical Chemistry Fellowship (Joint) at Stanford University and the University of California, San Francisco.
Previous position (title, institution): Postdoctoral Chemistry Fellow, Stanford University and University of California, San Francisco
What is your field of research or area of clinical care, and how did you get into it? I am a clinical chemist, currently focusing on newborn screening and laboratory medicine. I had always been interested in medicine as a career, but I became very interested in the laboratory testing and biomarkers during my early education. This clinical pathway has allowed me to focus on both, leveraging my scientific expertise and laboratory training to improve patient outcomes.
How would you describe your work to a 5-year-old? Sometime babies can get sick right after they’re born, and I help to figure out why before they get REALLY sick.
What attracted you to UW–Madison? A good community, work-life balance, and opportunities to make positive changes at the newborn screening laboratory here.
What is your favorite thing to do in Madison? Relax at the Memorial Union Terrace on a nice summer night.
What’s one thing you hope trainees will learn from you and your work? I hope my trainees can appreciate the amount of work that goes into providing each laboratory test result and guaranteeing its quality.
Do you feel your work relates to the Wisconsin Idea? If so, please describe how. Absolutely. The newborn screening laboratory at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene directly serves the parents and newborns of Wisconsin, and I am honored to be a part of this institution.
What’s something interesting about your area of expertise you can share that will make us sound smarter during video chats and parties? You can detect some inborn errors of metabolism by smelling a baby. For example: maple syrup urine disease gets its name from the “syrupy” smell it gives to sweat and urine, and isovaleric acidemia can make a newborn smell like sweaty feet.
What are some of your hobbies and other interests? Rock climbing, cooking, painting, spending time with my partner.