Newsmaker: Dr. Mary Marazita
Dr. Mary Marazita
Age : 55
Residence : Marshall
Family : Husband, Dick McCoy; daughters, Marty, Tory, Cody and Sammy; son, Tom
Education : Bachelor's degree in animal husbandry from Michigan State University, 1976; doctorate in genetics from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1980; post-doctoral work in craniofacial biology at the University of Southern California, 1980-82
Occupation : Assistant dean of research, University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine; director of the Center for Craniofacial and Dental Genetics; professor and vice chairwoman of oral biology; professor of human genetics in the Graduate School of Public Health; professor of psychiatry; professor at the Clinical and Translational Science Institute.
Background : Marazita began studying the genetic roots of children born with a cleft lip and palate during her post-graduate work and has been working at the University of Pittsburgh to improve how those genes can be identified in parents to see if their children are more at risk for that particular birth defect. A child born in the United States with a cleft lip or palate can require $100,000 to $200,000 worth of surgery, therapy and orthodontic work during their lifetime.
Notable : Marazita was awarded nearly $3 million from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research to expand her research. While no single gene causes cleft lip and palate, Marazita said, she and her colleagues are working to identify and measure how families can show signs of carrying the genes for cleft lip without having the birth defect itself.
Quote : "These types of birth defects are hard for a lot of parents to handle. ... You're bonding with your baby, but its face isn't what you'd expect."
