Marco Marra
Marco Marra | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 30, 1966 Berwyn, Alberta, Canada |
| Education | Simon Fraser University |
| Known for | Genomics |
| Website | www.bcgsc.ca |
Marco Antonio Marra is a scientist and director of Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at the BC Cancer Research Centre and professor of medical genetics at the University of British Columbia (UBC). He also serves as UBC Canada Research Chair in Genome Science for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is an inductee in the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.
Education and early life
Canadian born and educated, Marco Marra received a B.Sc. in molecular & cell biology and a PhD in genetics from Simon Fraser University. The title of his PhD thesis: "Genome analysis in Caenorhabditis elegans: Genetic and molecular identification of genes tightly linked to unc-22(IV)".[1]
Research
Along with GSC co-director, Dr. Steven J.M. Jones, Marra was involve in a paper titled "A physical map of the human genome",[2] describes the construction and use of the human genome map to fuel human genome sequencing. Marra made contributions to that effort by devising and then implementing clonal fingerprinting[3] techniques,
He was involved in sequencing the SARSe w virus[4] in 2003. work identified an alternative procedure for extracting nucleic acids for COVID-19 testing.[5]
As part of a GSC initiative, Marra played a role in a proof-of-concept[6] for whole genome analyses in personalized cancer medicine.
Awards and honours
He became a member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2020.[7] In 2024, he was appointed as an officer to the Order of Canada.[8]
References
- ^ Marra, Marco A.; Prasad, Shiv S.; Baillie, David L. (January 1993). "Molecular analysis of two genes between let-653 and let-56 in the unc 22(IV) region of Caenorhabditis elegans". Molecular and General Genetics. 236–236 (2–3): 289–298. doi:10.1007/BF00277125. ISSN 0026-8925. PMID 8382340. S2CID 18773166.
- ^ The International Human Genome Mapping Consortium (2001-02-15). "A physical map of the human genome". Nature. 409 (6822): 934–941. doi:10.1038/35057157. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 11237014. S2CID 186244510.
- ^ Marra, Marco A.; Kucaba, Tamara A.; Dietrich, Nicole L.; Green, Eric D.; Brownstein, Buddy; Wilson, Richard K.; McDonald, Ken M.; Hillier, LaDeana W.; McPherson, John D.; Waterston, Robert H. (1997-11-01). "High Throughput Fingerprint Analysis of Large-Insert Clones". Genome Research. 7 (11): 1072–1084. doi:10.1101/gr.7.11.1072. ISSN 1088-9051. PMC 310686. PMID 9371743.
- ^ Marra, Marco A.; Jones, Steven J. M.; Astell, Caroline R.; Holt, Robert A.; Brooks-Wilson, Angela; Butterfield, Yaron S. N.; Khattra, Jaswinder; Asano, Jennifer K.; Barber, Sarah A.; Chan, Susanna Y.; Cloutier, Alison (2003-05-30). "The Genome Sequence of the SARS-Associated Coronavirus". Science. 300 (5624): 1399–1404. Bibcode:2003Sci...300.1399M. doi:10.1126/science.1085953. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 12730501. S2CID 5491256.
- ^ Haile, Simon; Nikiforuk, Aidan M.; Pandoh, Pawan K.; Twa, David D. W.; Smailus, Duane E.; Nguyen, Jason; Pleasance, Stephen; Wong, Angus; Zhao, Yongjun; Eisler, Diane; Moksa, Michelle (2022-01-01). "Optimization of magnetic bead-based nucleic acid extraction for SARS-CoV-2 testing using readily available reagents". Journal of Virological Methods. 299 114339. doi:10.1016/j.jviromet.2021.114339. ISSN 0166-0934. PMC 8527638. PMID 34687784.
- ^ Jones, Steven JM; Laskin, Janessa; Li, Yvonne Y; Griffith, Obi L; An, Jianghong; Bilenky, Mikhail; Butterfield, Yaron S; Cezard, Timothee; Chuah, Eric; Corbett, Richard; Fejes, Anthony P (2010). "Evolution of an adenocarcinoma in response to selection by targeted kinase inhibitors". Genome Biology. 11 (8): R82. doi:10.1186/gb-2010-11-8-r82. ISSN 1465-6906. PMC 2945784. PMID 20696054.
- ^ "Marco Marra inducted into the 2020 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame". 10 October 2019.
- ^ "A celebration of Canadian excellence: Governor General appoints 88 individuals to the Order of Canada". Governor General of Canada. 18 December 2024. Archived from the original on 27 December 2024. Retrieved 3 January 2025.