Eric M. Morrow, a neuroscientist from Brown University, has been named founding director of the newly launched Lurie Autism Institute, a joint initiative of Penn Medicine and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The appointment follows a $50 million commitment from the Jeffrey Lurie and Nancy Lurie Marks families in 2025—the largest single donation any U.S. academic medical center has received for autism research spanning all life stages.
Morrow has spent his career studying the molecular origins of neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly autism and intellectual disability. His research focuses on mitochondria and other organelles within brain cells responsible for energy production and cellular maintenance. His lab has made discoveries about rare inherited conditions like Christianson syndrome.
Penn Medicine and CHOP conducted a nationwide search for the position. Morrow had previously served on both institutions' autism advisory boards in 2023 and spent seven years guiding the Eagles Autism Foundation's scientific priorities.
"This is an inflection point in neuroscience where genomic sequencing, artificial intelligence, and institutional resources can converge in ways that were impossible a decade ago," Morrow said in a statement.
The institute's laboratories will be located across adjacent buildings at CHOP's campus, designed to encourage collaboration between Penn and CHOP researchers. Morrow's mandate includes translating research into treatments and improved outcomes for patients across their entire lifespan.
Morrow begins in September 2026.
