Leticia Márquez-Magaña, PhD

Biography

Leticia Márquez-Magaña, PhD is the Health Equity Institute Professor of Biology at SFSU. She is the first-born daughter of Mexican immigrants and began her education in the U.S. as a monolingual Spanish speaker. Dr. Márquez-Magaña attended Stanford University as the first member of her extended U.S. family to complete high school. She earned a co-terminal BS/MS degree in Biological Sciences as a Patricia Robert Harris Fellow at Stanford. She subsequently completed her PhD research as an NSF Minority Pre-Doctoral Fellow in the department of Biochemistry at UC Berkeley. She is the first and only Latina to earn a PhD in Biochemistry in this department. After earning her PhD, Dr. Márquez-Magaña received an NSF Minority Post-doctoral Fellowship to undertake her postdoctoral training in molecular pharmacology at the Stanford Medical Center.

Dr. Márquez-Magaña joined the faculty at SF State in 1994 initiating a successful research program in microbial genetics based on her PhD work. This research program was continuously funded for seventeen years, led to several publications, and the training of >60 underrepresented minority students in the sciences. Notably, she was awarded a prestigious NSF CAREER grant as an Assistant Professor that supported her development as a researcher, educator, and mentor in microbial genetics. Her excellence in scientific mentoring was recognized in 2001 when she received a national Mentoring Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She now finds herself compelled to exercise her roles as researcher, educator, and mentor in the field of cancer disparities research.

In 2005 Dr. Márquez-Magaña developed and taught a course titled "Health Disparities in Cancer" that compelled her transition into cancer disparities research. She developed the course with colleagues in the Cancer Disparities group at UC San Francisco learning that the outcomes of traditional biomedical research often increase health disparities. This revelation caused her to transition from her traditional biomedical research in the field of microbial genetics to engagement in transdisciplinary research projects in health equity. Consequently, as the Professor of Biology in the Health Equity Institute she now strives to utilize her exceptional training in basic science to benefit transdisciplinary research aimed at reducing health disparities.

Research Interests

•     Breast cancer health disparities

•     Race, cancer, and medicine

•     Training minority students for health equity research careers

Current Research

Recruiting and Retaining Women of Color in Biomedical Research

• The goals of the funded NIH-SEPA project are to increase the interest, recruitment, and retention of women of color in biomedical sciences research. Efforts to achieve these goals include development of a mentoring community, after-school science clubs for middle/high school girls, and an innovative girls' science curriculum. Research emanating from this project is aimed at investigating best practices for recruiting and retaining women of color in science.

SFSU-UCSF Partnership to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities

• Through the award of a U56 planning grant from the National Cancer Institute a Partnership to Reduce Cancer Health Disparities was established between SF State and the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. The U56 planning grant was awarded in 2002 to accomplish the following goals: 1) build and stabilize independent competitive cancer research capacity at SF State; 2) improve the effectiveness of UCSF activities to address cancer disparities in underserved racial and ethnic minorities; and 3) create stable, long-term collaborative relationships between SF State and UCSF in all areas of cancer research, training, education, and outreach. The U56 grant expired in 2009 and current efforts are aimed at maintaining the Partnership.

Pilot Study of Genetic Ancestry and Triple-negative Breast Cancer

• The overall objective of the project is to obtain pilot data to support a genetic/ancestral basis for triple-negative breast cancer. Determination of the HLA-type and ancestral lineage of 100 triple-negative breast cancer samples will be a key milestone. This determination will be used to test the hypothesis that a genetic link explains the high incidence of triple-negative breast cancer in Ghanaian and U.S. African American women. This pilot study is a joint venture between Dr. Márquez-Magaña (molecular biologist) at SF State, Dr. Steve Mack (human evolutionary biologist) at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, and Dr. Cheryl Ewing (breast cancer surgeon) at the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at UC San Francisco.

Feasibility of Biomonitoring in Vulnerable Latina Populations

• A recent report by the Institute of Medicine documented potential risks for breast cancer that include exposure to second hand smoke and chemicals found in many industrial cleansers, as well as night shift work. These risks are thought to be prevalent in urban Latina communities. However, Latinas maintain a lower rate for breast cancer than Whites or African Americans. Therefore, the possibility exists that particular genes that confer greater resistance to breast cancer exist in Latina populations. These populations are notoriously understudied. This project aims to determine the feasibility of studying gene-environment interactions in urban Latinas and their daughters. The overall goal is to determine if it is possible to gather data regarding their environmental exposures, work habits, and genetic characteristics. This pilot study pairs Dr. Márquez-Magaña with former student and community-partner on this project, Lucero Barajas. Ms. Barajas is the Latina Program Manager for the Women's Cancer Resource Center in Alameda County.

Publications

(since transitioning into health equity research):

Peréz-Stable, E., Afable-Munsuz, A., Kaplan, C.P., Pace, L., Samayoa, C., Somkin, C., Nickleach, D., Lee, M., Márquez-Magaña, L.M., Juarbe, T., and Pasick, R. Evaluation of Abnormal Mammography in Diverse Women, in preparation for Cancer.

Márquez-Magaña, L.M., Samayoa, C., and Umanzour, C. Debunking "race" and Asserting Social Determinants as Primary Causes of Cancer Health Disparities, in preparation for Journal of Cancer Education.

Knight, J.D., R.M. Fulop, L.M. Márquez-Magaña~, and K.D. Tanner. 2008. . Implementation of Case-based Modules in an Upper Division Cell and Molecular Biology Course at a Minority-serving Institution, CBE Life Sci Edu 7:382  

Publications from Prior Project

Helmann, J.D., L.M. Márquez~, and M.J. Chamberlin. 1988. Cloning, Sequencing, and Disruption of the Bacillus subtilis sigma-28 gene. J. Bacteriol. 170:1568.

Márquez, L.M.~, J.D. Helmann, E.F. Ferrari, H.M. Parker, G.W. Ordal, andM.J. Chamberlin.  1990. Studies of Sigma-D Dependent Functions in Bacillus subtilis. J.  Bacteriol. 172:3435.

Hanlon, D.W., P. Carpenter, L.M. Márquez-Magaña~, M.J. Chamberlin, and G.W. Ordal. 1992. Sequence and Characterization of Bacillus subtilis CheW. J. Biol. Chem. 267:12055.

Ordal, G.W., L.M. Márquez-Magaña~, and M.J. Chamberlin. 1993. Motilityand Chemotaxis in Bacillus subtilis inA. Sonenshein, R. Losick, and J. Hoch (eds.), Bacillus subtilis and Other Gram Positive Bacteria; Biochemistry, Physiology, and Molecular Genetics, American Society of Microbiology, Washington, D.C., pp. 765-784.

Márquez-Magaña, L.M.~, and M.J. Chamberlin. 1994. Characterization of thesigD Transcription Unit of Bacillussubtilis. J. Bacteriol. 176:2427.

Márquez-Magaña, L.M.~, D.B. Mirel, and M.J. Chamberlin. 1994. Regulation of Sigma-D Expression and Activity by the spo0 and abrBGene Products of Bacillus subtilis.J. Bacteriol. 176:2435.

Estacio, W.E.*~, S. SantaAnna-Arriola~, M.A. Adedipe†~, and L.M. Márquez-Magaña~. 1998. Dual promoters are Responsible for Transcription Initiation of the fla/che operon in Bacillus subtilis. J. of Bacteriol. 180:3548.

West, J. T.~, W. Estacio~, and L. M. Márquez-Magaña~. 2000. Relative Roles of the fla/cheP_A, P_D-3,and P_sigD Promoters in Regulating Motility and sigD Expression in Bacillus subtilis, J. of Bacteriol. 182:4841

Mirel, D.B., W. Estacio~, M. Mathieu†, E. Olmsted*, J. Ramirez†~, and L.M. Márquez-Magaña~. 2000. Environmental Regulation of s^D-dependent Gene expression in Bacillus subtilis. J.of Bacteriol. 182:3055.

Aizawa, C., I. Zhulin, L .M. Márquez-Magaña~, and G. Ordal. 2002.Motility and Chemotaxis in A. Sonenshein, R. Losick, and J. Hoch (eds.), Bacillussubtilis and Its Relatives: From Genes to Cells, American Society of Microbiology, Washington, D.C., pp. 437-452.

Bergara, F.*, C. Ibarra†~, J.I. Iwamasa†~, J.C. Patarroyo†~, R.Aguilera~, and L.M. Márquez-Magaña~. 2003. CodY is a Nutritional Repressor of Flagellar Expression in Bacillus subtilis, J. of Bacteriol. 185:3118.

Cao M., L. Salzberg, C.S. Tsai, T. Mascher, C. Bonilla*~, T.Wang, R.W. Ye, L.M Márquez-Magaña~, and J.D.Helmann. 2003. Regulation of the Bacillus subtilis extracytoplasmic function protein s^Yand its target promoters. J. of Bacteriol. 185:4883.

Werhane, H.*, P. Lopez*~, M. Mendel*, M. Zimmer, G. Ordal, and L.M. Márquez-Magaña~. 2004. The Last Gene of the fla/che Operon in Bacillus subtilis is Required for Maximal s^D Function, J.of Bacteriol. 186:4025.

Marina, D.*, R. Garcia†~, and L.M. Márquez-Magaña~. SwrAA Plays a Critical Role in the Transition Between Swarming and Sporulation in Bacillus subtilis, in review.

Perez, C.L.*~, I. Casimiro*~, R. Mendez†~, P. Thorsen*, and L.M. Márquez-Magaña~. SigY Controls Expression of an Addiction Module in Response to Nutritional Stress in Bacillus subtilis,in revision for J. Bacteriol. In revision for resubmission.

Marina, D.*, J. Cueto†~, A. Lemus†~, and L.M. Márquez-Magaña~. Multiple Promoters are Responsible for Expression of the fla/che Operon in Bacillus subtilis, in preparation.

Links

http://biology.sfsu.edu/people/leticia-marquez-magan

http://cancer.ucsf.edu/u56/