Mora Pol Doctor Mora Pol was the Bajoran scientist who was assigned to study the Changeling who became known as Odo after he was discovered . Mora ' s parents were still alive as of 2373 . Mora studied and taught Odo for seven years at the Bajoran Center for Science during the Occupation of Bajor . When Odo assumed the shape of a humanoid , he imitated Dr . Mora ' s hairstyle . ( ) Odo was labeled as an " Unknown Sample " , which a Cardassian translated as " Odo ' ital " in Cardassian . ( ) However , Odo resented Mora as he failed to realize that Odo was sentient ; when Mora attempted to guide Odo into taking the shape of a cube , Odo only did it on the third attempt because on the previous two he was attempting to defy Mora . Under pressure from the Cardassian s to get answers , some of Mora ' s methods of experimenting were questionable . Less than two years later , Odo would have left the institute . When Odo was to be shown to the Cardassian High Command , Dr . Mora persuaded him to practice and perform the " Cardassian neck trick " . Mora made him practice it for weeks . ( ) In 2369 , Doctor Mora provided Doctor Julian Bashir with his data on Odo ' s physiology soon after the United Federation of Planets began assisting the Bajoran recovery after the Occupation . ( ) In 2370 , Dr . Mora learned of DNA pattern s like Odo ' s being detected on L - S VI , a planet in the Gamma Quadrant , from the data sent back by a Bajoran science probe . He and his assistant Dr . Weld Ram later visited Deep Space 9 , hoping Odo would be able to convince Commander Sisko to let him use a Starfleet runabout instead of making a request to the Board of Ministers for access to a ship , which would take several months . Upon arriving on L - S VI in the , the team found a stone tablet . An earthquake later released a gas which rendered Dr . Mora , Dr . Weld and Jadzia Dax unconscious . Upon arriving back on Deep Space 9 , exposure to the gas began to transform Odo into a dangerous creature . Mora later lured Odo onto the Promenade after which Odo was changed back to normal . Dr . Mora later helped Doctor Julian Bashir to remove the traces of the gas from Odo . ( ) In late 2372 , Doctor Julian Bashir sent Doctor Mora his data on an illness that Odo was suffering . Mora wanted Odo to come to his laboratory on Bajor so he could run further tests . ( ) In 2373 , Doctor Mora traveled to Earth to help Starfleet find new ways to detect Changelings . ( ) Mora and Odo did not reconcile their differences until 2373 , when Mora arrived on Deep Space 9 to assist Odo in treating and educating an infant Changeling . Although the two initially differed in their methods to train the changeling — Mora attempting to use the same methods he ' d used on Odo while Odo preferred to use encouragement — the two eventually reconciled when both their methods combined proved more successful than they had been on their own ; although the changeling began to move only when Odo and Mora used Mora ' s shock treatments on it , encouraging it to take specific forms , because Odo had made an effort to connect with the creature it actually formed eyes to look at him . After the changeling ' s ' death ' — although it merged with Odo to restore his shapeshifting abilities as thanks for his efforts — Mora suggested that Odo see the changeling ' s last act as a gift , Odo admitting that he now had a better idea of what Mora had gone through when he had left the institute . ( ) Odo planned to visit Dr . Mora later that year , but decided not to after a large increase in crime on Deep Space 9 . ( ) In 2375 , Section 31 , via Starfleet Medical , sent Bashir a copy of Doctor Mora ' s original medical file on Odo . ( ) Appendicies . Background information . In the script for " The Alternate " , his name was pronounced as " MAW - ra POHL " . " " Mora Pol was played by James Sloyan . It was planned for Odo actor Rene Auberjonois to play Mora Pol , ( much as Brent Spiner portrayed Data ' s creator , Dr . Noonian Soong , and Robert Picardo portrayed The Doctor ' s creator Dr . Lewis Zimmerman ) . Sloyan was cast when the role was substantially increased and the character given more lines . ( " " ) " " It turned out to be technically impossible , " " said Auberjonois . " " My makeup takes too long to be able to change back and forth [ . . . ] To change an entire prosthetic makeup , that would have been impossible . On one level , that was very disappointing , but on another , I was very happy that James Sloyan did it , because he ' s an old friend whom I admire , and I think he just did a terrific job . " " ( " " # 222 ) An early plot thread of had Doctor Mora revealed to be involved in the creation of the morphogenic virus . Ronald D . Moore explained , " " Initially , our thought was to have Odo going into Sloan ' s mind and having a surreal adventure where he eventually ran into Dr . Mora and learned that it was his own ' father ' who created the changeling disease . " " Apocrypha . In the " " series , Odo recalls some of Mora ' s early theories about his shape - shifting abilities . One of these includes the fact that Mora initially believed that Odo shunted some of his body mass into another dimension when he assumed a significantly small form , resulting in a partial explanation for Odo ' s general reluctance to assume small forms such as insects or other animals even after linking with the Female Changeling and learning more about his abilities . According to the " " novel " Dawn of the Eagles " , he is a cousin of Sito Jaxa .