Margaret Werner-Washburne

Margaret (Maggie) Werner-Washburne is a

molecular biologist and Regents' Professor Emeritus of Margaret Werner-Washburne
Biology.[1] at the University of New Mexico. She was
previously the president (2013–2015)[2] of the Society
for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and
Native Americans in Science (SACNAS), which holds
the largest broadly multidisciplinary and multicultural
STEM diversity conference in the U.S.[3] A pioneer in
the genomics of the stationary phase of yeast,[4] she is
known for her innovative programs to attract and retain
underrepresented minorities in STEM.[5] Werner-
Washburne has made great strides in the field of
Genetics. She has done gene sequencing with
organisms that are disease vectors, which allows a Alma mater University of Wisconsin–
greater understanding of genetics in general.[6] Madison
Known for Yeast genomics
Awards Presidential Young Investigator
Early life and education Award, Presidential Award for
Excellence in Science,
Werner-Washburne grew up near a Mexican village
Mathematics, and Engineering
within Fort Madison.[7] Her father, Harold Theodore
Mentoring
Werner,[8] was a general practitioner and volunteer
Scientific career
prison doctor.[9] Her mother, Marta Lucia (née Brown
y Morales), was born in Aguascalientes, Mexico. Fields Molecular biology
Werner-Washburne's mother and her mother's family Institutions University of New Mexico
fled Mexico for the United States during the Mexican Doctoral Kenneth Keegstra
Revolution.[8][10] Werner-Washbune's mother was a advisor
prison reformer and community activist.[9] Werner-
Washburne earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English studying poetry at Stanford University.[7] After
graduation, she traveled extensively throughout Mexico, Central and South America, Alaska, Samoa, and
New Zealand.[7] She subsequently obtained a master's degree in botany at the University of Hawaiʻi at
Mānoa with Sanford Siegel,[7] a PhD in botany at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with Kenneth
Keegstra,[11] and did postdoctoral work with National Academy of Sciences Member Elizabeth Craig.[12]

Career
Werner-Washburne joined the University of New Mexico as a faculty member in 1988. In addition to
running a research lab, Werner-Washburne served as a program director at the National Science
Foundation (1998–1999), for which she was given the Director's Special Service Award (1999).[13]
Werner-Washburne created the Initiative to Maximize Student Diversity (IMSD) at the University of New
Mexico.[14] More than 300 students participated in the initiative,[15] with >70% entering PhD
programs.[13] In 2009 she was recognized with a SAGE Women Making a Difference Award for her role
in creating IMSD.[14] She has mentored more than 100 underrepresented students who have received
their PhDs or who are enrolled in PhD programs.[13] She has been a member of the Southwest Hispanic
Research Institute since 2009.[16] She has been the subject of a documentary, "The Mystery of an Ancient
Gene", which described her discovery of the role of a gene called SNZ in a cell's metabolic pathway.[17]
She has written about the importance of psychosocial mentors in diversifying science and technology[18]
and institutional barriers to retaining underrepresented students in STEM.[19]

Awards and honors

Werner-Washburne has received numerous honors and awards. These include: the National Science
Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award (1990),[20] the Presidential Award for Excellence in
Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring (PAESMEM) (2003),[21][22] the SACNAS
Distinguished Scientist Award (2005),[23] the Harvard Foundation Scientist of the Year (2011),[24] and the
AAAS Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement (2017).[13] She is an American Association for the
Advancement of Science AAAS Fellow (2006).[25] In 2017, in the first session of the fifty-third
legislature, the House of Representatives of the New Mexico Legislature recognized her contributions to
science and to the mentoring of underrepresented minorities.

Scientific research
As a postdoc in Elizabeth Craig's lab, Werner-Washburne was part of a team that discovered that a group
of heat-shock proteins were chaperones.[26] Werner-Washburne began studying the stationary phase of
yeast when she moved to the University of New Mexico. She found new cell types in yeast stationary
phase cultures (quiescent and non-quiescent).[27] As a part of her research with quiescent and non-
quiescent phase cultures, researchers were able to gain a greater understanding of the cells life cycle,
structural components, and their reproductive abilities. In further studies, they were able to isolate the two
cells, which gave them the ability to track these cells systems, gaining a greater understanding of the cells
and its cycles.[28] As part of her genomics research, she developed hyperspectral imaging to improve the
signal-to-noise ratio of microarrays.[29]

Personal life
Werner-Washburne plays in the band Holy Water and Whiskey,[12] which has won three New Mexico
Music Awards:[30] Best Vocal for "Mary Had A Baby" and Best Western for "Fancy Red Boots" in
2011[31] and Best Vocal Performance for "Night Hymn" in 2016.[32]

References
1. "M. Werner-Washburne" (https://biology.unm.edu/core-faculty/werner-washburne.shtml).
biology.unm.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
 2. "Board of Directors – SACNAS" (http://sacnas.org/who-we-are/board-of-directors/).
sacnas.org. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
3. "SACNAS - Professional Woman's Magazine | The Working Woman's Magazine" (https://ww
w.professionalwomanmag.com/event/sacnas/). Professional Woman’s Magazine | The
Working Woman’s Magazine. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
4. Fleck, John (August 6, 2000). "DNA: Using the code: Powerful tools help UNM researchers
make sense of book of life". The Albuquerque Journal.
5. Fleck, John (April 19, 2011). "Bat cave research requires rabies shot". The Albuquerque
Journal.
6. "Maggie Werner-Washburne, Ph.D." (https://www.asbmb.org/Page.aspx?id=11634)
www.asbmb.org. Retrieved 2019-02-17.
7. Davis, Alison (September 2003). "A perfect mix". National Institute of General Medical
Sciences Findings.
8. "UI Collection Guides -Marta Werner papers, 1892-1989" (http://collguides.lib.uiowa.edu/?I
WA0361). collguides.lib.uiowa.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
9. Kingsley, Lisa (May 4, 1989). "Iowa prison reformer, Marta Werner, 83, dies". The Des
Moines Register.
10. Walsh, Larry (April 2, 2000). "Poised to lead a revolution". The Albuquerque Journal.
11. Werner-Washburne, Margaret; Cline, Kenneth; Keegstra, Kenneth (1983-11-01). "Analysis
of Pea Chloroplast Inner and Outer Envelope Membrane Proteins by Two-Dimensional Gel
Electrophoresis and Their Comparison with Stromal Proteins" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
pmc/articles/PMC1066508). Plant Physiology. 73 (3): 569–575. doi:10.1104/pp.73.3.569 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1104%2Fpp.73.3.569). ISSN 0032-0889 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/003
2-0889). PMC 1066508 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1066508).
PMID 16663260 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16663260).
12. "5 Things About Me: Biologist Maggie Werner-Washburne" (https://www.aaas.org/5-things-a
bout-me-biologist-maggie-werner-washburne). American Association for the Advancement
of Science. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
13. "Margaret Werner-Washburne Wins the AAAS Mentor Award for Lifetime Achievement" (http
s://www.aaas.org/news/margaret-werner-washburne-wins-aaas-mentor-award-lifetime-achie
vement). American Association for the Advancement of Science. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
14. "SAGE honors women making a difference". The Albuquerque Journal. October 18, 2009.
15. Werner-Washburne, Maggie (January 31, 2016). "A Great Education Takes Time". The
Santa Fe New Mexican.
16. "SHRI Members :: SOUTHWEST HISPANIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE | The University of
New Mexico" (https://shri.unm.edu/affiliations/affiliated-faculty/index.html). shri.unm.edu.
Retrieved 2018-10-16.
17. "A scientific mystery story". The Albuquerque Journal. January 10, 1998.
18. Werner-Washburne, Maggie (2017-12-18). "Mentoring for diversity in technology" (https://do
i.org/10.1038%2Fnbt.4025). Nature Biotechnology. 36 (1): 113–115. doi:10.1038/nbt.4025
(https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fnbt.4025). ISSN 1087-0156 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/10
87-0156). PMID 29251731 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29251731).
19. Estrada, Maggie; Burnett, Myra; Campbell, Andrew G.; Campbell, Patricia B.; Denetclaw,
Wilfred F.; Gutiérrez, Carlos G.; Hurtado, Sylvia; John, Gilbert H.; Matsui, John; McGee,
Richard; Okpodu, Camellia Moses; Robinson, T Joan; Summers, Michael F.; Werner-
Washburne, Maggie; Zavala, Maria Elena (2016). "Improving Underrepresented Minority
Student Persistence in STEM" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008901).
CBE: Life Sciences Education. 15 (3): es5. doi:10.1187/cbe.16-01-0038 (https://doi.org/10.1
187%2Fcbe.16-01-0038). ISSN 1931-7913 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1931-7913).
PMC 5008901 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5008901). PMID 27543633
(https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27543633).
20. "Three UNM Profs Win Awards". The Albuquerque Journal. June 7, 1990.
21. Fleck, John (April 2, 2004). "Award-Winning Prof Believes in Mentoring". The Albuquerque
Journal.
22. "Awards | paesmem" (http://paesmem.net/awards). paesmem.net. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
23. "Past Awardees – SACNAS" (http://sacnas.org/what-we-do/honor-excellence/past-awardee
s/). sacnas.org. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
24. "Truly inspirational" (https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2011/04/truly-inspirational/).
Harvard Gazette. 2011-04-11. Retrieved 2018-10-16.
25. "Werner-Washburne, AAAS Fellow" (https://biology.unm.edu/biologynews/MWW-AAAS.ht
m). biology.unm.edu. Retrieved 2018-10-17.
26. Deshaies, Raymond J.; Koch, Bruce D.; Werner-Washburne, Margaret; Craig, Elizabeth A.;
Schekman, Randy (April 1988). "A subfamily of stress proteins facilitates translocation of
secretory and mitochondrial precursor polypeptides". Nature. 332 (6167): 800–805.
Bibcode:1988Natur.332..800D (https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1988Natur.332..800D).
doi:10.1038/332800a0 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F332800a0). ISSN 0028-0836 (https://sea
rch.worldcat.org/issn/0028-0836). PMID 3282178 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/328217
8). S2CID 39993735 (https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:39993735).
27. Aragon, Anthony D.; Rodriguez, Angelina L.; Meirelles, Osorio; Roy, Sushmita; Davidson,
George S.; Tapia, Phillip H.; Allen, Chris; Joe, Ray; Benn, Don; Werner-Washburne,
Margaret (March 2008). "Characterization of differentiated quiescent and nonquiescent cells
in yeast stationary-phase cultures" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC226295
8). Molecular Biology of the Cell. 19 (3): 1271–1280. doi:10.1091/mbc.e07-07-0666 (https://
doi.org/10.1091%2Fmbc.e07-07-0666). ISSN 1939-4586 (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1
939-4586). PMC 2262958 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2262958).
PMID 18199684 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18199684).
28. Chris Allen; Sabrina Büttner; Anthony D. Aragon; Jason A. Thomas; Osorio Meirelles; Jason
E. Jaetao; Don Benn; Stephanie W. Ruby; Marten Veenhuis (2006). "Isolation of Quiescent
and Nonquiescent Cells from Yeast Stationary-Phase Cultures" (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC2064167). The Journal of Cell Biology. 174 (1): 89–100.
doi:10.1083/jcb.200604072 (https://doi.org/10.1083%2Fjcb.200604072). PMC 2064167 (http
s://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2064167). PMID 16818721 (https://pubmed.ncbi.
nlm.nih.gov/16818721).
29. Sinclair, Michael B.; Timlin, Jerilyn A.; Haaland, David M.; Werner-Washburne, Margaret
(2004-04-01). "Design, construction, characterization, and application of a hyperspectral
microarray scanner". Applied Optics. 43 (10): 2079–2088. Bibcode:2004ApOpt..43.2079S (h
ttps://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004ApOpt..43.2079S). doi:10.1364/ao.43.002079 (https://
doi.org/10.1364%2Fao.43.002079). ISSN 1559-128X (https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1559-
128X). PMID 15074416 (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15074416).
30. "2011 Winners | New Mexico Music Awards" (http://newmexicomusicawards.com/2011-winn
ers/). newmexicomusicawards.com. Retrieved 2018-10-18.
31. "The New Mexico Music Awards | Winners Listings" (http://www.newmexicomusicawards.co
m/winners/index.html). www.newmexicomusicawards.com. Retrieved 2018-10-22.
32. "2016 WINNERS | New Mexico Music Awards" (http://newmexicomusicawards.com/2016-wi
nners/). newmexicomusicawards.com. Retrieved 2018-10-22.

External links
Margaret Werner-Washburne (https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=mFvETvwAAAAJ)
publications indexed by Google Scholar
Why Did You Become a Scientist? New Mexico PBS Interview Margaret Werner-Washburne
[1] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuUuOm30yqo)
 "5 Things About Me: Biologist Maggie Werner-Washburne" (https://www.aaas.org/5-things-a
bout-me-biologist-maggie-werner-washburne). American Association for the Advancement
of Science. Retrieved 2019-03-29.

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