Dr. Morse attended graduate school at the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received his M.S.P.H. (’66) in environmental chemistry and biology and a Ph.D. (’69) in microbiology. In 1984, he joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as Director of the Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs) Research Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases (NCID); and in 1996, became the Associate Director for Science of the newly created Division of AIDS, STDs and Tuberculosis Laboratory Research. From 1999 - 2007, he served as the Associate Director for Science, Division of Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response where he worked on national and international bioterrorism-related issues. In 2008, he became the Associate Director for Environmental Microbiology, CDC. He has published 325 peer reviewed articles, books and chapters.