Mhairi (“Vari”) Morris, PhD profile page

Dr. Mhairi (“Vari”) Morris is a Senior Lecturer in biochemistry at Loughborough University, specialising in cancer biology and exercise oncology. Her research focuses on modelling the tumour microenvironment, particularly the interactions between cancer stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells, cancer-associated fibroblasts and cancer-associated adipocytes. She is currently developing a model of exercise and the obesogenic tumour microenvironment in breast cancer. Mhairi holds a BSc(Hons) in Medical Biochemistry from the University of Glasgow (2004) and completed her PhD in tumour virology at the University of Birmingham (2009), where she studied the role of the viral oncoprotein, LMP1, in epithelial cell invasion and metastasis. Following a career break, she returned to academia as a Lecturer at De Montfort University in Leicester (2013), attaining her Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCertHE) with distinction and being awarded DMU Teacher Fellow status before joining Loughborough University in 2017. Mhairi is a two-time recipient of the Eric Reid Methodology Award (2016, 2024) from The Biochemical Society and has received recognition for innovative teaching methods in cancer biology, including being nominated for the Royal Society of Biology HE Bioscience Teacher of the Year award (2021) and shortlisted for The Biochemical Society’s Teaching Excellence Award (2025). She serves on the editorial boards of Pathogens and Frontiers in Physiology journals. Beyond academia, Mhairi is a certified Les Mills DanceTM instructor (and is shortly undertaking initial instructor training for Les Mills BodyJamTM too), combining her passion for exercise with her academic pursuits.