Marco Marra, OBC

Order of British Columbia

The Order of British Columbia is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Instituted in 1989 by Lieutenant Governor David Lam, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Bill Vander Zalm, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour...

, Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 is the director of Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Center (GSC) located at the BC Cancer Agency

BC Cancer Agency

The BC Cancer Agency is part of the Provincial Health Services Authority in British Columbia, Canada.-Mission:The Agency has a three-part mission:* To reduce the incidence of cancer.* To reduce the mortality rate of people with cancer....

 since 2000 and a leading expert in the field of genomics

Genomics

Genomics is a discipline in genetics concerning the study of the genomes of organisms. The field includes intensive efforts to determine the entire DNA sequence of organisms and fine-scale genetic mapping efforts. The field also includes studies of intragenomic phenomena such as heterosis,...

.

Marra was born in Berwyn, Alberta

Berwyn, Alberta

Berwyn is a village in northwestern Alberta, Canada. It is located approximately west of the Town of Peace River, southwest of the Town of Grimshaw, and northeast of the Duncan's First Nation reserve....

 on June 30, 1966. He studied at the Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University

Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...

 in Burnaby, British Columbia

British Columbia

British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 and received his Ph.D.

Doctor of Philosophy

Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...

 in genetics

Genetics

Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....

 in 1994. He also holds a B.Sc. in molecular and cell biology

Cell biology

Cell biology is a scientific discipline that studies cells – their physiological properties, their structure, the organelles they contain, interactions with their environment, their life cycle, division and death. This is done both on a microscopic and molecular level...

. His accomplishments include leading a team of scientists at BCCA that mapped the SARS coronavirus

SARS coronavirus

The SARS coronavirus, sometimes shortened to SARS-CoV, is the virus that causes severe acute respiratory syndrome . On April 16, 2003, following the outbreak of SARS in Asia and secondary cases elsewhere in the world, the World Health Organization issued a press release stating that the...

genome in 2003.

Photos: http://www.publicaffairs.ubc.ca/annualreports/2003/assets/images/photos/marra.jpg, http://www.bcgsc.ca/faculty/mmarra/portrait/image_preview, http://www.nature.ca/genome/images/03/marra.jpg

External links

• http://www.bcgsc.ca/about/faculty/person?pid=mmarra
• http://www.bccrc.ca/gsc/people_mmarra.html
• http://www.nature.ca/genome/03/e/03e_40mar_e.cfm
• http://www.cmaj.ca/cgi/content/full/164/2/312
• http://www.genomebc.ca/research_tech/researcher_profiles/marra.htm