Marino joins News Office

Melissa D. Marino, Ph.D.

Marino joins News Office

Melissa D. Marino, Ph.D., has joined the Office of News and Public Affairs as an information officer. Marino will serve as a science writer, contributing to the in-house research magazine Lens and the VUMC Reporter, among other publications.

In 2001, Marino interned in the Office of News and Public Information at the National Academies in Washington, D.C. There she wrote and edited news items for the Academies’ news Web page and contributed to the weekly news tip sheet for the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

After her internship, Marino continued to work as a free-lance science writer for PNAS, writing lay summaries of technical research manuscripts for the tip sheet and biographies of newly-elected members of the National Academies.

Marino received a bachelor’s degree in Medical Technology and a doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Science from the University of South Carolina in Columbia.

Prior to joining Vanderbilt, Marino was a postdoctoral fellow at Emory University School of Medicine’s department of Human Genetics, where she assessed social behavior in genetically engineered (knock-out) mice.

“With Melissa’s experience working in a research setting and her writing background, she will surely be a great asset to this office,” said Bill Hance, director of the Office of News and Public Affairs at the Medical Center. “Some of the most important news that comes out of the Medical Center involves basic research, and writers with Melissa’s knowledge help Vanderbilt communicate that news.”