Braydon Morris was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah. After graduating high school, he was not academically-prepared for college and subsequently failed miserably, flunking out his first year at Dixie State University. After deciding to step away from college, Braydon took three years to work and perform a two-year service experience. Upon his return, he attended Utah Valley University where he participated in a research lab studying Tyrosinase-dependent pigmentation pathways in rock pigeons. After completing his A.S. in Biology, Braydon transferred to the University of Washington to complete his Bachelors where he joined Dr. Eric Domyan’s research lab studying Alzheimer’s disease genotype/phenotype relationships and tissue-specific exome analysis in fruit fly models. Braydon always knew his interests lied in working with individuals in need, so during his undergraduate time he volunteered doing hospice visits for an individual with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, helped with the Seattle/King County Clinic for underserved populations, and assisted in his local hospital’s emergency department. He graduated in December of 2019 with his degree in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology.
Upon graduating, Braydon worked as an excavation laborer and operator in Seattle as well as a private tutor, before eventually transitioning to tutoring full-time. He was eyeing several different career options, ranging from teaching to social work to personal financial planning, when he first discovered the field of genetic counseling in January of 2021. Braydon was immediately interested in the field, and after meeting with several genetic counselors and previous academic mentors, he decided on the career field. Following this, Braydon began working as a genetic counseling assistant for GeneDx/Sema4 until beginning Emory’s graduate program.
In his free time, Braydon enjoys spending time with his wife and two children, cooking, playing video games, hiking and other things outdoors, playing the drums, and working on personal projects. He is passionate about mentorship and loves to speak with prospective genetic counseling students and anyone at all interested in majoring in biological sciences.