Marco Marra

Marco A. Marra is a Distinguished Scientist and Director of Canada's Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at the BC Cancer Research Institute and Professor of Medical Genetics at the University of British Columbia. He also serves as University of British Columbia Canada Research Chair in Genome Science for the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and is an inductee in the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Marra has been instrumental in bringing genome science to Canada by demonstrating the pivotal role that genomics can play in human health and disease research.

Marco Marra
Marra in 2014
Born (1966-06-30) June 30, 1966
Berwyn, Alberta, Canada
EducationSimon Fraser University (PhD – Genetics, BSc – Molecular & Cell Biology)
Known forGenomics, Bioinformatics, Cancer Biology, Genetics, Epigenomics, Personalized OncoGenomics (POG)
TitleDirector, Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre, BC Cancer

Distinguished Scientist, BC Cancer Research Institute, BC Cancer

Professor, Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia
Websitewww.bcgsc.ca

Education and Early Life

Canadian born and educated, Dr. 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]

Marra trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri. He went on to become Group Leader of both the EST (Express Sequence Tag) Sequencing Team and Genome Fingerprinting and Mapping Teams at Washington University’s Genome Sequence Center (renamed the McDonnell Genome Institute), one of the top two sequencing centers in the world at that time.[2]

In 1998, Nobel Laureate Dr. Michael Smith and Dr. Victor Ling set out to establish the Genome Sequence Centre in Vancouver. At their request, Marra returned to British Columbia to head the Mapping and Sequencing teams.

Career and Research

During his first two years with British Columbia’s Genome Sequence Center (renamed the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre), Marra served as head of the Mapping and Sequencing teams, Associate Director and Scientific Co-Director. He also held the position of Senior Scientist at the BC Cancer Research Centre and Adjunct Professor for the Department of Medical Genetics. Marra subsequently became Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Genetics in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of British Columbia.

From 2011 to 2018, Marra founded and co-directed the Genome Science and Technology Graduate Program at the University of British Columbia. He also lent his expertise to the Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at Simon Fraser University, serving as Adjunct Professor from 2001 to 2015. Marra currently holds the position of British Columbia Node Leader for the Terry Fox Research Institute.

Canada's Michael Smith Genome Science Centre

Marra took over as Director of the Genome Science Centre when Dr. Smith died of cancer in 2000. Led by Marra, the Genome Science Centre was first in the world to sequence the SARS virus[3] in 2003. This discovery had significant implications for many diseases, including cancers, as the techniques used for SARs could be applied to many fields.

Marra’s team at the Genome Science Centre was also instrumental in creating the first map the human genome, an international initiative that allowed the data to remain in the public domain. One of the largest collaborative scientific projects in history, the Human Genome Project begun in 1990 and completed in 2003. The massive and unprecedented scale of genomic data provided by the Human Genome Project has since revolutionized our understanding of disease biology ranging from cancer to cognitive impairment and continues to unfold new possibilities for integrating laboratory research and clinical practice to improve cancer control.

The paper published in the 15 February 2001 issue of Nature, titled "A physical map of the human genome"[4] describes the construction and use of the human genome map to fuel human genome sequencing. Marra and his team at the Genome Sciences Centre made fundamental contributions to that effort by devising and then implementing the approaches that led to the construction and use of the map, which served as the centralized coordinating resource for the sequencing effort.

As of 2021, the Genome Science Centre has more than 280 scientists, trainees and staff and a grant funding level averaging more than 25 million dollars each year. Marra has mentored many scientists and graduate students who are now providing the expertise and insight needed to fulfill the promise of genomics through technological innovation, enhanced informatics and creative clinical applications.

Personalized OncoGenomics

As part of a Genome Science Centre initiative, Marra played a pivotal role in the first proof-of-concept[5] for the effective use of whole genome analyses in personalized cancer medicine, leading to the development of BC Cancer’s Personalized OncoGenomics (POG) program. POG, co-lead by Dr. Janessa Laskin, represents one of the first applications of whole genome sequencing in a clinical setting, using information derived from thousands of individual cancer genomes and transcriptomes to identify promising therapeutic targets in individual patients.

In 2019, Marra and the POG team became a key part of the Marathon of Hope Cancer Centres Network. Led by the Terry Fox Research Institute and the Terry Fox Foundation, with support from dozens of research and funding partners across Canada, this represents the country’s largest ever clinical data-sharing initiative. The Marathon of Hope aims to accelerate the adoption of precision medicine for cancer patients throughout Canada.  

Marra continues to extend the reach of genomics toward managing and eradicating disease. His research has uncovered new cancer mutations, candidate biomarkers and therapeutic targets, and has been instrumental in demonstrating the functional interplay between the cancer genome and epigenome.

Awards and Honors

Since 2014, Dr. Marra has been listed in the yearly Highly Cited Researchers and World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds by Thomson Reuters and Clarivate Analytics. This list recognizes world-class researchers selected for their exceptional research performance, demonstrated by production of multiple highly cited papers that rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in Web of Science.

Marra's contributions to genome science led to an honorary Doctor of Science degree from Simon Fraser University in 2004, and an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Calgary in 2005. He is also a recipient of the Order of British Columbia[6] and became a member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame in 2020.[7]

1989 Special Graduate Research Fellowship, Simon Fraser University

1989 Pre-doctoral Scholarship, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

1993 President’s PhD Research Stipend, Simon Fraser University

1994 University Graduate Fellowship, Simon Fraser University

1999 Outstanding Alumni Award for Academic Achievement, Simon Fraser University

2000, Notable Canadian 35 and Under, The Globe and Mail

2000 Canada’s Top 40 Under 40 Award, The Caldwell Partners International

2001 Top 40 Under 40 Award, Business in Vancouver

2001-20016 Career Investigator Senior Scholar Award, Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research

2004 Terry Fox Young Investigator Award, National Cancer Institute of Canada

2004 Innovation and Achievement Award to Genome Science Centre for sequencing the SARS coronavirus genome, BC Biotech

2004 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Science, Simon Fraser University

2005 Honorary Degree, Doctor of Laws, University of Calgary

2006 President's 40th Anniversary Award, Simon Fraser University

2007 Merck Frosst Prize, Canadian Society of Biochemistry and Molecular & Cellular Biology

2007 Fellow, Royal Society of Canada

2007 Distinguished Achievement Award (Excellence in Basic Science Research), University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine

2008 Frontiers in Research Award, BC Innovation Council

2009 Elected to the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences

2010 Genome BC Award for Scientific Excellence, LifeSciences BC

2010 Order of British Columbia

2010 Terry Fox Medal, British Columbia Medical Association

2012 Distinguished Achievement Award, University of British Columbia Faculty of Medicine

2012 Medal of Merit Award, International Association of Lions Clubs

2013 UBC Killam Research Prize, University of British Columbia

2015 Dr. Chew Wei Memorial Prize in Cancer Research, University of British Columbia

2016 - BC Health Care Award of Merit for Collaborative Solutions (for BC Cancer’s Personalized OncoGenomics Project, co-led with Dr. Janessa Laskin), Health Employers Association of British Columbia

2017 Outstanding Achievements in Cancer Research, Canadian Cancer Research Alliance

2019 Don Rix Lifetime Achievement Award, LifeSciences BC

2020 Team Science Award, American Association for Cancer Research

2020 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Inductee

References
  1. 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 MGG. 236–236 (2–3): 289–298. doi:10.1007/BF00277125. ISSN 0026-8925.
  2. Arbanas, Caroline (November 30, 2006). "Genome center receives $156 million". The Source: Washington University in St. Louis. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  3. 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. doi:10.1126/science.1085953. ISSN 0036-8075.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. "2010 Recipient: Marco A. Marra – Vancouver".
  7. "Marco Marra inducted into the 2020 Canadian Medical Hall of Fame".
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