David P. Morris

Education

• BSc (Hons.) Pharmacology, Med College of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital
• MBBS, Med College of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital
• Residency, North-west of England Rotation, UK
• MD (Doctoral Thesis), University of London, UK
• Fellowship Otology/Neurotology, Dalhousie University

Dr. Morris joined the Dalhousie Division of Otolaryngology in 2003 following a fellowship there in Otology, Neurotology and Lateral Skull-base Surgery. He enjoys a busy tertiary adult and pediatric practice covering the breadth of otology and neurotology for the Maritime Provinces. Dr. Morris is a member of the Otologic Implant and Lateral Skull-base programmes and coordinates the Otology Fellowship and, every third year, the TWJ Fellowship from the UK. Current clinical interests focus on the management of advanced middle ear disease and especially cases requiring surgical revision, mastoid obliteration techniques, performance assessment of bone conduction hearing devices, communication skills training and the development of new surgical tools.

Research interests

Dr. Morris’s research interests are diverse and include clinical outcome-based projects and applied scientific projects from strong local collaboration with both Diagnostic Imaging (0.5 T MRI applications in Otology) and Biomedical Engineering (Optical Coherence Tomography applications in the ear). He was funded by the Clinical Research Scholar Programme at Dalhousie University (2006-2011), held a Canadian Foundation for Innovation, Leaders’ Opportunity Fund Award and as co-researcher in the Ear and Auditory Research Laboratory (EARLab) and is co-applicant on a successful CIHR Project grant to examine middle ear applications of OCT. He currently leads the clinical side of the team collecting normative mobility data with the OSSIVIEW handheld OCT device which was developed and commercialized through Dalhousie University.

Selected publications

• Geometrically accurate real-time volumetric visualization of the middle ear using optical coherence tomography. Farrell JD, Wang J, MacDougall D, Yang X, Brewer K, Couvreur F, Shoman N, Morris DP, Adamson RBA.Biomed Opt Express. 2023 Jun 7;14(7):3152-3171.
• Transtympanic Visualization of Cochlear Implant Placement With Optical Coherence Tomography: A Pilot Study. Wang J, Chawdhary G, Farrell J, Yang X, Farrell M, MacDougall D, Trudel M, Shoman N, Morris DP, Adamson RBA. Otol Neurotol. 2022 Sep 1;43(8):e824-e828.
• Optical Clearing Agents for Optical Imaging Through Cartilage Tympanoplasties: A Preclinical Feasibility Study. Wang J, Chawdhary G, Yang X, Morin F, Khalid-Raja M, Farrell J, MacDougall D, Chen F, Morris DP, Adamson RBA.Otol Neurotol . 2022 Apr 1;43(4): 467- 474.
• Quality IndIcators for the Diagnosis and Management of Menière's Disease. Cottrell J, Yip J, Agrawal S, Archibald J, Chau J, Lea J, Lin V, Mick P, Morris D, Parnes L, Schramm D, Chan Y, Crowson M, de Almeida J, Eskander A, Witterick IJ, Monteiro E. Otol Neurotol. 2021 Sep 1;42(8): e1084-e1092.
• Quality Indicators for the Diagnosis and Management of Sudden Sensorineural Hearing Loss. Cottrell J, Zahr SK, Yip J, Agrawal S, Archibald J, Chau J, Lea J, Lin V, Mick P, Morris D, Parnes L, Schramm D, Chan Y, de Almeida J, Eskander A, Witterick IJ, Monteiro E. Otol Neurotol. 2021 Sep 1;42(8): e991-e1000.

Selected awards and honours

• The Knott Surgery Prize and Medal (1989), The Medical College of St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, London
• The George Seed Memorial Prize (Residents Award) (2000), North of England Otolaryngological Society
• The Royal Society of Medicine “Gold Medal” (2001), awarded to the highest scoring candidate in the Intercollegiate Fellowship Examination in Otolaryngology, College of Surgeons, Dublin, Eire
• Top Medical Student Research Presentation (2011), Division of Otolaryngology Annual Resident Research Day
• 3^rd Prize – Student Presentation, Department of Surgery Resident Research Day. Supervisor for award winner Damien Yohn (The effect of graded temporal bone resections on BAHA performance in dry skulls and surgically fixed cadaveric heads)
• Nova Scotia Productivity & Innovation Voucher Programme Tier 1 (2013). Development of a novel surgical tray for middle ear operations
• Honour Award 2019 Recognizing contribution to the affairs of the Society Canadian Society of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
• Best Graduate Student Presentation – Winner 2022. Registration and fusion of CT and OCT for an improved assessment of the middle ear Junzhe Wang, Joshua Farrell, Mathieu Trudel, Dan MacDougall, Nael Shoman, David Morris, Robert Adamson. Dalhousie University Department of Surgery Research Day 20 April 2022
• Governor General’s Gold Medal Award in Sciences and Engineering – 2024. Junzhe Wang (Graduate Committee)

Memberships

• College of Physicians & Surgeons of Nova Scotia – specialist in otolaryngology
• Canadian Society of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery - member
• Royal College of Surgeons of England - fellow
• ENT UK / British Society of Otology - member

Teaching

Dr. Morris has a full teaching portfolio at all levels. He is an experienced tutor at the undergraduate, postgraduate and residency level (ALOBA process, workshop hosting) and contributes to CME, the hospital outreach program at Dalhousie and allied health professional programs. He is cross-appointed to the Department of Medical Education and works most often with the Communication Skills division.

Dr. Morris is a regular invited speaker at the national and international level on surgical topics, has presented his research widely and has contributed as faculty to numerous temporal courses around the world. He coordinates and has co-supervised the Dalhousie Otology Neurotology Fellowship since 2003.