May 22, 2023 - Congratulations to 2021 Norris Lab HIP Intern, Roman Fenner, on his acceptance to the MD/PhD program at MUSC! Awesome, Roman!

April 27, 2023 - May is the official awareness month for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder. As part of the Ehlers-Danlos Society's "Acts of Awareness Challenge," lab member, Julianna Weninger, received a governor's proclamation declaring May as the official awareness month in South Carolina. Want to get a proclamation from your state or local government? Find all of the instructions here. Awareness is key!

March 17, 2023 - HIP 2022 alumnus, Christina Hastings, recently accepted an internship at Teva Pharmaceuticals! Congratulations, Christina! We're so proud of you and all that you've accomplished outside of the Norris lab!

March 15, 2023 - Congratulations, Leon and Rebecca! Norris Lab members, Leon Guo and Rebecca Byrd passed Step 1 (Rebecca) and Step 2 (Leon) of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). This is a 3-step examination that medical students must take in order to receive medical licensure in the United States. Amazing!

March 8, 2023 - The Norris Lab is hiring a full-time Program Coordinator. Please see the job description and requirements at the following link: https://musc.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/MUSC/job/Charleston/UNIV--Program-Coordinator-I--Department-of-Regenerative-Medicine_R-0000009816. If you think you're a good fit for this position, please apply!

March 1, 2023 - HIP 2022 alumnus, Christina Hastings, presented a poster at the Southeast Regional Clinical & Translational Science Conference in Georgia on her Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome research from the Summer 2022 HIP program. Way to go, Christina! 

February 27, 2023 - Hypermobile Intern Program alumnus, Katherine Singleton, was accepted into Emory University's PhD program for Genetics and Molecular Biology. The program offers training in the fields of genetics, molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, cell biology, developmental biology, and epigenetics. Katherine starts her program in August. Congratulations, Katherine! We can't wait to see what you accomplish!

February 14, 2023 - The Charleston Chapter of the Bobby Jones Chiari and Syringomyelia Foundation will be having their quarterly patient to patient support group and expert lecture. This quarter will feature Dr. Alan Snyder, an MUSC dermatology resident, and focus on "Cutaneous Manifestations, Concerns and Considerations in Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome." The meeting will be held on Thursday, February 16th in the Bioengineering Building, room 110. The patient-to-patient support group begins at 5:00 pm, and the expert lecture begins at 6:30 pm. Please register beforehand at this link. This will be a hybrid event. Hope to see you there!

January 25, 2023 - On January 18, 2023, MD/PhD student Jordan Morningstar presented his "3 minute thesis" about his studies in mitral valve prolapse and cardiac fibrosis. Jordan spent over a month in Germany studying mitral valve prolapse and fibrosis, observing cardiothoracic surgery, and collaborating with other scientists from around the world. 

January 24, 2023 - Dr. Cortney Gensemer was featured alongside Professor Lara Bloom and Jeannie Di Bon in Reader's Digest UK in an article entitled "Bending Boundaries." The article highlighted how each woman is shaping the future of hEDS. Congratulations, Dr. Gensemer! Click here to open the article!

January 3, 2023 - The Norris Lab received a generous donation from Milton J Wood Fire Protection. Thank you for supporting us in our research!

December 31, 2022 - After only a week, the CNN article featuring hEDS, Dr. Cortney Gensemer, Dr. Russell Norris, the Norris Lab, and numerous other scientists and medical professionals with hEDS has reached #97 on CNN's "Top 100 Digital Stories in 2022." Missed the article? Check it out here.

December 24, 2022 - An article by CNNHealth featuring Dr. Cortney Gensemer and Dr. Russell Norris, along with other individuals, scientists, and medical professionals with hEDS, poses an important question...If so many people have this disease, then why isn't the medical community paying attention to it? Check out this article hear the stories of individuals living with hEDS, and see how the Norris Lab and other "hEDS-ers" are taking matters into their own hands and working to change the course of this disease. 

On November 14th, Dr. Chip Norris received the Impact Award from the president of MUSC, Dr. David Cole. Read the full story here.

November 14, 2022 - Dr. Chip Norris was recognized at MUSC's 2022 Values in Action Awards by receiving the highest honor, the Impact Award, for his hardwork, dedication, and collaboration to his research in both cardiovascular studies and Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. Dr. Norris was nominated by Dr. Stephen Duncan. The award was presented by MUSC's president, Dr. David Cole. Congratulations, Dr. Norris! 

Check out this article written in MUSC's Progressnotes about the future of pineal cysts with Dr. Sunil Patel, Dr. Libby Infinger, and Dr. Chip Norris. Learn how these physicians plan to collaborate with the Norris Lab to tackle pineal cysts. Read this article of Progressnotes here.

Jordan Morningstar, a 3rd year MSTP student in the Norris lab, is trying to understand why mitral valve prolapse patients develop regionalized myocardial fibrosis in the heart, which in turn can cause MVP patients to experience lethal ventricular arrhythmias.  As part of his PhD thesis, he traveled to Leipzig Germany for a month in order to work with some of the world's preeminent mitral valve surgeons.  While in Leipzig, he will collect endomyocardial biopsies from regionalized fibrotic scars, as well as healthy myocardium from surgical MVP patients, which will be subjected to cutting edge single cell 'omics' techniques.  Single cell sequencing will allow the entire landscape of a fibrotic scar to be categorized on a tissue, cellular, and molecular level, and will allow our group to answer the question, "how does fibrosis develop in MVP and what can be done to stop it?"

Dr. Norris, Dr. Gensemer, Jordan Morningstar, and Taylor Petrucci traveled to Rome, Italy to attend the Ehlers-Danlos Society's International Scientific Symposium. The lab presented 2 posters and 2 talks at the symposium.

September 7, 2022 - The Norris Lab enjoyed meeting first year graduate students at Tuesday's poster session. We shared our research, how our lab works, and discussed future projects with potential students.

September 6, 2022 - The Norris Lab is excited to welcome Julia Hohn to the lab! She will be starting in the lab as a postdoctoral scholar in January after the success defense of her dissertation. She is graduating from the University of South Carolina, School of Medicine, Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Welcome, Julia!

August 17, 2022 - Check out MUSC's podcast "Innovatively Speaking," where Dr. Chip Norris and Dr. Cortney Gensemer take a deep dive into hEDS, how MUSC and the Norris Lab is trying to change the future of hEDS, and topics like the true prevalence of hEDS, symptoms, why physicians are so dismissive of hEDS, the benefits of early diagnosis, research & the registry in the Norris Lab, and how to change the perception of the disease. Listen now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify!

July 29, 2022 - The Norris Lab hosted 5 interns this summer through the Gensemer Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Intern Program, a program that allows collegiate and postbac students with hEDS to become a patient-scientist and study their own condition in the Norris Lab. This was the program's 2nd year. After 10 weeks in the lab, the interns presented their findings to their peers during a summer symposium with special keynote speaker, Dr. Paldeep Atwal. Congratulations to all of our 2022 interns! If you are interested in the intern program for 2023, applications will open on our website in the winter of 2022.

June 19, 2022 - The Ehlers-Danlos Society funded 3 grants for "Research and Educational Support in EDS," with $150,000 being awarded to Dr. Chip Norris. The funds will be used to explore new gene candidates for hEDS and allow the lab to test how genotype can correlate with phenotype and comorbidites. Congratulations, Dr. Norris!

June 9, 2022 - Join Dr. Chip Norris and Dr. Cortney Gensemer on Thursday, June 16th, 2022 from 12:00 pm-1:00 pm EST as they discuss the background of hEDS, the work of the Norris Lab, and their philosophy of including patients in the study of hEDS. This is a free webinar and open to the public. Registration required, register here!

May 20, 2022 - MUSC's College of Graduate Studies recognized two members of the Norris Lab, Cortney Gensemer and Kelsey Moore, in their 2022 Hooding Ceremony. Both Cortney and Kelsey are graduating with their doctorate. Cortney also received the Student Impact Award during today's ceremonies for the vast and meaningul impact her research has had on a community that has been living with a disease that has gone grossly under-researched and under-funded. Way to go Kelsey and Cortney! We know you'll continue to leave your mark, wherever life takes you. Congratulations Dr. Moore and Dr. Gensemer!

May 13, 2022 - Tyler defended his dissertation titled, "Pharmacokinetic Optimization of Peptides and Small Molecules" on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Congratulations Tyler! The Norris Lab is so proud of you and all that you've accomplished!

Tyler Beck will be defending his dissertation entitled, "Pharmacokinetic Optimization of Peptides and Small Molecules" on Thursday, May 12th, 2022 at 12:00 pm in room 110 of the Bioengineering Building. His defense will also be available virtually here. Congratulations on all of your hard work Tyler!

An article featuring Dr. Chip Norris and Jordan Morningstar's research about surgical guidelines in patients with mitral valve prolapse (MVP) was highlighted in MUSC's Spring issue of Progressnotes. Their research suggests that changing the surgical guidelines can help prevent fibrosis and improve outcomes. Read the entire article here.

Taylor presented a poster about Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) for the SC-PEAR event called "lab to leaders." The purpose of the event was to present an accessible version of our research to the public. Taylor hopes to increase public awareness of the reasearch being done at MUSC and in the Norris Lab! Way to go, Taylor!

MUSC and the Norris Lab hosted a gathering including patients, researchers, and administration to thank the donors who have helped fund hEDS specific research. An unveiling of newly-named areas of the Norris Lab included the "Maltz Family Ehlers-Danlos Genetic Lab," and the "Charlie and Mindy Brain Ehlers-Danlos Research Innovation Station." The Norris Lab is the first lab in the world dedicated to EDS research.

March 27, 2022 - Cortney defended her dissertation titled, "Leveraging Human Genetics to Uncover Molecular Mechanisms in Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome" on Friday, March 25, 2022. The Norris Lab is so proud of everything Cortney has been able to accomplish, as her research brings hope to the 15 million patients living with hEDS. Congratulations, Dr. Gensemer!  

An article in the Post and Courier highlights the scientific advances of PhD Candidate, Cortney Gensemer, and advocacy work of local teen, Sydney Severance. Together they are making strides in the care of hEDS patients, not only in the Lowcountry, but across the world. 

December 7, 2021 - Jordan Morningstar and Cortney Gensemer co-authored a paper published by the Journal of the American Heart Association about the relationship between mitral valve prolapse (MVP) and regionalized myocardial fibrosis.

When Miss America 2020, Camille Schrier, walked into the Norris Lab on the campus of the Medical University of South Carolina, she was among peers. Not other contestants but other people who love science and are affected by an uncommon connective tissue disorder called Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or EDS. Schrier is perhaps not a typical Miss America. Her winning talent was a chemistry experiment, and she’s pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Virginia Commonwealth University. But it was the Norris lab’s focus on EDS that brought her to Charleston...

March, 2021 - Tyler and Liz Beck welcomed Tatum Ann Beck into the world on March 2nd, 2021. She weighed 6 pounds 7 ounces and had a full head of hair.