The Artist's Gallery
2012 to Present
Dr. Karla-Sue C. Marriott is a self-taught, freehand visionary artist working in acrylic, oil, pastels, and mixed media on canvas. She began painting following the death of her father. What started as a private place to move through loss—a quiet space where she could simply be—soon became a powerful new language for creativity, discovery, and self-revelation.
Painting offered Dr. Marriott a freedom unlike that of her scientific work. Science depends upon funding, peer review, institutional approval, and the validation of others before an idea can move forward. Art requires no such permission. At the canvas, her vision is entirely self-directed and free to unfold without prescribed methods, external limitations, or interruption. This is why she prefers not to be watched while she paints: although viewers are invited to experience the completed work, the creative process itself is a deeply personal exchange between the artist, the canvas, and Nature.
Inspired by the beauty, complexity, and imperfection of the natural world, Dr. Marriott considers Nature both her teacher and her guide. Her classroom is everywhere, and her subjects—birds, insects, trees, flowers, animals, people, clouds, and the sky—lead her into explorations of science, history, philosophy, culture, psychology, spirituality, and the meaning of being human. She paints slowly and intuitively, with close attention to detail, allowing each work to reveal connections that words and theories cannot always express.
Dr. Marriott identifies as a visionary artist because she paints beyond what the eye can see. Her work emerges from observation, instinct, emotion, curiosity, and an inner vision unconstrained by disciplinary boundaries. Science helps her investigate and understand the world; art gives her the freedom to feel, interpret, and reimagine it. Together, her scientific mind and artistic spirit produce paintings that invite viewers to pause, look more deeply, and remember what it means to be human.
Her debut exhibition, Dancing with Nature: Being Human, was presented at the Savannah State University Fine Arts Gallery in 2015. The exhibition introduced the philosophy that continues to shape her work: painting is a dance with Nature, guided by curiosity and sustained by love. Each painting is more than an image—it is an encounter, a lesson, and part of her continuing journey toward a deeper understanding of herself and humanity.
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Educator
As an educator, Dr. Marriott serves as Professor and Director of the Forensic Science Program at Roger Williams University. Since joining RWU in 2021, she has led significant curriculum enhancements to strengthen the scientific rigor of its Bachelor of Science program and align it with Forensic Science Education Programs Accreditation Commission standards.
She developed new courses in crime scene investigation and cannabis chemistry and, in 2024, established a cutting-edge forensic science laboratory equipped for advanced scientific analysis, immersive crime-scene processing, and virtual reality training.
Previously, Dr. Marriott founded and directed the Bachelor of Science program in Forensic Science at Savannah State University, where she pioneered an innovative 3-D virtual reality crime-scene training facility for undergraduate education.
Curriculum Development: Forensic Science
The Roger Williams University Forensic Science Program actively engages students through immersive, integrative, and student-centered teaching and learning. Under Dr. Marriott’s leadership, the curriculum combines rigorous scientific study with hands-on laboratory experiences, interdisciplinary research, and virtual reality-based crime-scene investigation.
Her commitment to innovative instruction has earned her recognition as a 2015 Georgia Governor’s Teaching Fellow, a 2019 Community Change Agent from Operation One STEM at a Time, and the 2024 Dr. Mark Gould Commitment to Student Learning Award—an honor voted on by RWU students.
Scientist
As a scientist, Dr. Marriott has served as Principal Investigator and Co-Principal Investigator on research and education initiatives funded by the NSF, NIH, NASA, and U.S. Department of Defense. Her current biomedical research focuses on developing therapeutic agents for immune and neurodegenerative disorders, including addiction, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. She actively mentors undergraduate researchers in medicinal chemistry, molecular modeling, and virtual reality-assisted scientific investigation.
Dr. Marriott previously served as Principal Investigator and Program Director of the NIH-NIBIB ESTEEMED program at Savannah State University, which created pathways for students from underrepresented groups to pursue careers in biomedical research. She also served as the original Lead Co-Principal Investigator of the $2.25 million NSF HBCU-UP iApply program, advancing interdisciplinary research, active-learning curriculum reform, virtual reality-enhanced instruction, faculty development, and pathways for underrepresented students to earn STEM degrees and pursue graduate education and careers.
Research
Dr. Marriott’s NIH/NIDA-funded research involved the synthesis and characterization of novel medicinal compounds for the treatment of addiction, producing interdisciplinary findings relevant to cholesterol metabolism and neurodegenerative disorders. She continues this research at Roger Williams University while mentoring undergraduate students in medicinal chemistry and molecular modeling.
Recent work on the synthesis and docking of norepinephrine transporter-selective ligands was presented at the 2025 American Chemical Society National Meeting in Washington, D.C., and Brown University Health’s 32nd Annual Research Day.
In January 2017, Dr. Marriott was awarded a U.S. chemical patent for benzofuran compounds with pharmaceutical potential for treating neurodegenerative conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In recognition of her contributions to Alzheimer’s research, she was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Club of Savannah Sunrise in 2019.
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