Marnie Halpern
{{short description|American biochemist}}
{{Infobox scientist
| name = Marnie Halpern
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth date|mf=yes|1956|12|25}}
| birth_place = Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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| work_institutions = University of Oregon, Carnegie Institution for Science, Dartmouth College
| alma_mater = McMaster University, Yale University
|doctoral_advisor =
| awards = Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences
}}
Marnie Halpern (born December 25, 1956) is the Andrew J. Thomson Professor and Chair of molecular and systems biology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.{{Cite web|title=Marnie E Halpern, PHD – Faculty Expertise Database – Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth|url=https://geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/faculty/facultydb/view.php/?uid=7320|access-date=2021-09-21|language=en-US}} She is a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences. and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.{{cite web |last1=Zambon |first1=Kat |title=New AAAS Fellows Recognized for Their Contributions to Advancing Science |date=24 November 2014 |url=https://www.aaas.org/news/new-aaas-fellows-recognized-their-contributions-advancing-science |website=American Association for the Advancement of Science |access-date=13 October 2021}}
Halpern's research has focused on studying how differences are established between the right and left sides of the developing brain.{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Marnie Halpern|url=https://emb.carnegiescience.edu/science/faculty/marnie-halpern|access-date=2021-09-21|website=Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution for Science }} Her laboratory has performed screenings in order to identify the genes that control the asymmetry of the brain. The lab has also developed methods to perturb the laterality of larval and adult fish and developed methods to visualize the brains of altered and normal individuals.{{cite web |title=Marnie E. Halpern, Ph.D. |url=https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-biomedical-scholars/directory-of-pew-scholars/1995/marnie-halpern |website=The Pew Charitable Trusts. |access-date=12 October 2021}}
Early life and education
Marnie E. Halpern grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Her family was of Jewish descent and left Europe after the Second World War. Her father was a doctor. His practice was located in their house and Halpern helped him from an early age.{{cite web|author-first=Helene L. |author-last= Cohen | title= Oral history interview with Marnie E. Halpern, 2000-Dec-04 – 2000-Dec-07 (full transcript downloadable) |url=https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/z7ywtug |website= Science History Institute |publisher=Center for Oral History |date=2000 }}
Halpern studied at McMaster University and worked as a research assistant at McMaster University Medical Center. She obtained her bachelor's degree in biology in 1981. Working with James R Smiley, she focused on herpes simplex gene regulation. She earned her master's degree in molecular biology in 1984.
She went on to Yale University, where she received her PhD in biology in 1990. At Yale, she studied Drosophila (fruit fly) neuromuscular development with Spyros Artavanis-Tsakonas, and characterized the neorumuscular system in larvae with Haig Keshishian.
Further career
After meeting Charles Kimmel at a neuroscience conference, her interest in zebrafish (Danio rerio) expanded. She joined Kimmel's laboratory at the University of Oregon, and did postdoctoral research on no tail mutants from 1990 to 1994. She subsequently moved to the laboratory of Christiane Nusslein-Volhard in Germany.{{cite journal |last1=Eisen |first1=Judith S |title=Zebrafish Make a Big Splash |journal=Cell |date=December 1996 |volume=87 |issue=6 |pages=969–977 |doi=10.1016/s0092-8674(00)81792-4 |pmid=8978602 |s2cid=17807157 |url=https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-8674(00)81792-4 |access-date=13 October 2021 |issn=0092-8674|doi-access=free }}
In 1994, Halpern joined the Department of Embryology of the Carnegie Institution for Science in Baltimore, Maryland. She was also recruited by Donald D. Brown to become an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Biology at Johns Hopkins University.
In 2019, Halpern became Chair of the Department of Molecular and Systems Biology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College.{{cite news |last1=Hertel |first1=Derik |title=Marnie Halpern Named Chair of the Dept. of Molecular and Systems Biology |url=https://geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/news/2019/marnie-halpern-named-chair-of-the-dept-of-molecular-and-systems-biology/ |access-date=12 October 2021 |work=News |publisher=Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College |date=11 July 2019}}
In 2021, she was named the Andrew Thomson, Jr., MD 1946 Professor at Dartmouth College.{{cite news |last1=Dean |first1=Timothy
|title=Marnie Halpern Named the Andrew Thomson, Jr., MD 1946 Professor |url=https://geiselmed.dartmouth.edu/news/2021/marnie-halpern-named-the-andrew-thomson-jr-md-1946-professor/ |access-date=12 October 2021 |work=News |publisher=Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College |date= 22 Jul 2021 }}
References
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Category:McMaster University alumni
Category:Yale University alumni
Category:University of Oregon faculty
Category:Dartmouth College faculty
Category:American molecular biologists
Category:Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science