Marion B. Sewer

Marion Sewer (1972-2016)

Photo credit: ASMBM

Do you ever hear about a scholarship named after someone and focus on the money rather than the namesake? Well, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) is offering the Marion B. Sewer Distinguished Scholarship for Undergraduates and we want to make sure you don’t overlook the amazing scientist it’s named for, so we’re featuring pharmacologist Marion Sewer again.

Sewer was a pharmacologist and Professor at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD)’s Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences known for her research on steroid hormone biogenesis and her commitment to increasing diversity in science. She died unexpectedly at the age of 43 from a pulmonary embolism and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) established an award in her memory: the Marion B. Sewer Distinguished Scholarship for Undergraduates provides up to $2000 to help cover tuition costs of undergraduate biochemistry and molecular biology students committed to increasing diversity in science. This year’s deadline to apply is June 1: https://www.asbmb.org/UndergraduateScholarship/

Marion Sewer was born and raised in the U.S. Virgin Islands. She studied biochemistry at Spelman College in Atlanta, where she participated in research through the NIH’s Minority Access to Research Careers (MARC) program. She went on to earn a PhD in pharmacology from Emory University followed by postdoctoral studies at Vanderbilt University, supported by prestigious fellowships: a predoctoral fellowship from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and a UNCF/Merck Postdoctoral Scholarship.

She joined the faculty of the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2002 and received tenure in 2008 before moving to UCSD in 2009, where she rose to the rank of full professor in 2015. In addition to teaching pharmacology, she led a lab researching how lipid metabolism is regulated and how this affects cells. She performed extensive research on cytochrome P450, a family of enzymes involved in converting cholesterol into steroid hormones (a type of molecular messengers), and she discovered a novel role for nuclear lipids in regulating steroid hormone production.

In addition to being world-renowned for her lipid research, she is remembered as a tireless advocate for underrepresented minorities. She served as Deputy Chair for the ASBMB’s Minority Affairs Committee (MAC), co-founding and helping lead grant writing workshops and a mentorship program to help advance the careers of underrepresented minority scientists. She also served as associate director at UCSD’s Institutional Research and Academic Career Development Award (IRACDA) program, which supports underrepresented minority postdoctoral fellows.

She also provided great words of wisdom, such as this: “I have found that biomedical research, particularly in academia, can be isolating, and at times fraught with setbacks and disappointment. In spite of these adversities I think the most important thing that I’ve learned is to not let speed bumps deter you from your goals and to not be afraid to take detours off a set path if these changes move you closer a personally satisfying career.” http://www.asbmb.org/Page.aspx?id=13228

Photo credit: ASBMB

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