His work started with worms: Researcher who helps personalize cancer treatments wins Killam Prize – CTV
March 19, 2025
TORONTO — Marco Marra spent five years earning his PhD by studying DNA fragments of roundworms, fascinated by the notion that scientists could use them to learn about genetics in animal muscle and nerve function.
Thirty years later, the University of British Columbia medical genetics professor is leading the way in analyzing the genomes of human cancers to drive personalized treatment for patients — an achievement that would have astonished his younger self.
“This was all happening at a pace that outstripped anything that I could comprehend at the time,” said Marra, who left Simon Fraser University after his worm research to turn to human genetics in St. Louis, where he was part of the international Human Genome Project in the mid-1990s.
“I came from a fairly traditional laboratory environment, and found myself smack dab in the middle of what I think became known as Big Science, the likes of which biology had never seen.”
On Wednesday, Marra won the 2025 Killam Prize in health sciences, a $100,000 award recognizing excellence in Canadian research. Four others also won the prize in their respective fields of engineering, humanities, natural sciences and social sciences.
