Marian Johnson-Thompson

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Marian Johnson-Thompson
Dr. Marian C. Johnson-Thompson.jpg
Johnson-Thompson at ASM Microbe 2022
Born1946 (age 77–78)
Alma mater Howard University
Georgetown University
Scientific career
Fields Virology
Institutions National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
University of the District of Columbia
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Thesis Effect of 5-Azacytidine on simian virus 40 DNA replication  (1978)

Marian Cecelia Johnson-Thompson (born December 9, 1946) is an American virologist who was a professor at the University of the District of Columbia. She was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Contents

Early life and education

Johnson-Thompson was born in Boston in 1946. [1] She moved to Riviera Beach, Florida as a child, where she attended high school. As an undergraduate student at Howard University, Johnson-Thompson specialized in microbiology, and graduated with a master's degree in 1971. [2] She moved to Georgetown University for her graduate studies, where she focused on molecular virology. [2] Only a few years after segregation, Johnson-Thompson was the first American-born Black person to complete the graduate program. [2] She completed her doctoral research in the Georgetown University Medical Center in 1978. [3]

Research and career

The Sister Study Sister two.jpg
The Sister Study

Johnson-Thompson's research spanned several different aspects of virology. Initially, she studied the mechanisms of action of azacytidine against SV40. She has also investigated the impact of ultraviolet (UV) laser therapy on the stability of viral DNA. [2] She has studied the molecular mechanisms that underpin breast cancer, showing that women of colour were most likely to suffer from environmental-induced breast cancer. [4] This study alerted her to the need for minority sciences to be better represented in medical research. [4]

After retiring from University of the District of Columbia in 1994, Johnson-Thompson joined the National Institutes of Health as the director of education and biomedical research development at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), [2] [5] where she was responsible for clinical trials, including the Sister Study, which looked to understand the environmental causes of breast cancer. [5] She found that African-American women were more likely to have more delayed cancer treatment diagnoses, as well as more prolonged treatment. [6] Johnson-Thompson retired from NIEHS in 2008. [7]

Academic service

Johnson-Thompson established a scholarship at Howard University which supports women scientists from marginalized groups. [2] The scholarship was named after Marie Taylor. [2] In 1997 Johnson-Thompson established the Bridging Education Science and Technology Program at Hillside High School, introducing high school students to molecular biology. [2]

Awards and honors

Selected publications

Personal life

Dr. Marian Johnson-Thompson was born to Rose Mae Henderson Beavers, born in 1919 from Galveston, Texas. Her mother attended Holy Rosary Catholic School as well as the Holy Rosary Catholic Church. Her Father was Edwin Saint Aloyious Johnson was born in 1908 in Kingston, Jamaica to a Haitian Mother and Cuban Father. Her father later immigrated to the United States where he attended Columbia University and obtained his master’s degree. Her father later moved to Galveston, Texas where he worked as a USO and met her mother, Ms. Henderson Beavers. Mr. Edwin Johnson later attended medical school in Boston City College. He later owned his own practice in Clewiston, Florida. [14]

Dr. Marian Johnson-Thompson attended Grade School in Clewiston, Florida where she lived with her father. After her father died in 1961, she continued to live with her Stepmother until she finished High School at John F. Kennedy High School. She later attended Howard University, where she was advised by a Botanist Marie Clark Taylor and Biologist John Rear[14].

Dr. Marian Johnson- Thompson was the founder of Minority Women in Science which was founded in 1978. She organized Science discovery days events that were used to introduce minority students and women to STEM at an early age. She also established the Minority women in science Christmas Store. This program allowed children to earn currency which they could use to purchase scientific books. [15] Johnson-Thompson is married with two children . [2]

Mentorship

Dr. Marian Johnson-Thompson understood the importance of mentorship. While at the University of the District of Columbia she directly mentored 14 undergraduates and master's level students. She also mentored 17 Ph.D. level students. In 2001, she was named Meyerhoff Scholars Mentor of the Year[15].

Some of her doctoral degree mentees include Ashalla Magee Freeman now director of Diversity Affairs at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, office of Graduate Education; Kenneth Gibbs now program analyst at National Institute of General Medical Science, National Institute of Health (NIH). Elena Braithwaite now Toxicologist at the FDA in Rockville, MD; Sherilynn Black now assistant professor at Duke University School of Medicine and Pocahontas Jones Ph.D. in Microbiology and immunology currently working at Halifax Community College [15].

Inclusion of Minority in Science

In 1997, Dr. Johnson- Thompson established the Bridging Education Science and Technology program at Hillside High School in Durham, North Carolina. The programs utilized equipment and scientists from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS) to educate the students with hands-on molecular biology experiences[13]. In 1994, She also established the Johnson-Thompson Taylor Endowed scholarship at Howard University in honor of her mentor Dr. Marie Taylor who was the first female to earn a Ph.D. at Fordham University[15].

Related Research Articles

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) conducts research into the effects of the environment on human disease, as one of the 27 institutes and centers of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It is located in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina, and is the only primary division of the NIH located outside of the Washington metropolitan area.

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Kathie-Ann Joseph is a surgeon and researcher at New York University Langone Health where she specializes in breast surgery and oncology surgery. Joseph is also the chief of breast surgery at Bellevue Medical Center, where she was recognized in 2015 as Bellevue's Physician of the Year. Joseph works to reduce disparities in cancer care in order to improve health care for individuals in need. Specifically, Joseph focuses on developing programs that will help African-American women to address their needs in breast cancer prevention and care. She is also studying the effects of a cell surface receptor molecule called RAGE which appears to play a role in tumor growth.

The Sister Study is a nationwide effort, conducted by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, one of the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to learn how the environment and genes may affect the chances of getting breast cancer. Over 10 years, the study followed 50,000 sisters of women who have had breast cancer, in hopes of finding the environmental and genetic causes of the disease.

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References

  1. ↑ Henderson, ed. (2009). American Men & Women of Science: A Biographical Directory of Today's Leaders in Physical, Biological, and Related Sciences. Vol. 4 (26th ed.). Detroit, MI: Gale. p. 126.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Johnson, Crystal N. (2018), "Marian Johnson-Thompson: Lifelong Mentor", Women in Microbiology, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, pp. 183–192, doi:10.1128/9781555819545.ch20, ISBN   978-1-68367-057-5 , retrieved 2021-01-03
  3. ↑ Johnson-Thompson, Marian Cecilia (1978). Effect of 5-Azacytidine on simian virus 40 DNA replication (Thesis). OCLC   6039668.
  4. 1 2 "Marian Johnson-Thompson, Ph.D." www.epidemiolog.net. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  5. 1 2 3 "Marian Johnson-Thompson". UNC Lineberger. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  6. ↑ "Black women may be less likely to receive timely treatment for breast cancer". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  7. 1 2 "Johnson-Thompson Retires | Environmental Factor". factor.niehs.nih.gov. Retrieved 2023-02-03.
  8. 1 2 "Marian Johnson-Thompson, PhD". Howard University . Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  9. ↑ Read "Seeking Solutions: Maximizing American Talent by Advancing Women of Color in Academia: Summary of a Conference" at NAP.edu.
  10. ↑ "Dr. Marian Johnson-Thompson". MicroGSA. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  11. 1 2 "Marian Johnson-Thompson's Biography". The HistoryMakers. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  12. ↑ "Marian Johnson-Thompson wins 2004 Alice C. Evans Award". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  13. ↑ "NC DEQ: Secretary's Environmental Justice and Equity Board Members". deq.nc.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-04.
  14. ↑ “The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Marian Johnson-Thompson” May 7, 2013. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois
  15. ↑ Johnson CN. 2018. Marian Johnson-Thompson: Lifelong Mentor, p 277-288. In Whitaker RJ, Barton HA (ed), Women in Microbiology. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC.
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