High school seniors and college undergraduates interested in pursuing careers in biochemistry and molecular biology may now apply for the Marion B. Sewer Distinguished Scholarship for Undergraduates.
The scholarship was created by the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in honor of pharmacology professor Marion B. Sewer, who was born and raised on St. John. Sewer was committed to expanding diversity among young scientists when she died unexpectedly of a pulmonary embolism in 2016.
Described as “young, gifted and Black” by a colleague on the ASBMB website, Sewer was a full professor at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of California, San Diego, where she conducted research on kidney and digestive disorders. Before her untimely death, “she published more than 44 scientific papers and reviews in the top journals in her field and almost 30 as an independent investigator,” the website said.
“Marion never acted brainy, but she was extremely smart,” said her sister Gwendolyn Sewer. Surprisingly, Marion’s high school nickname, “the Legend,” came from her facility with writing poetry rather than her passion for biochemistry, Gwendolyn said. “She loved to read, she loved music, and she loved being a West Indian.”
Marion was the daughter of Felix Sewer Jr. and Madaline Harris Sewer (who served for years as an administrator at the Julius E. Sprauve School on St. John). She graduated from Ivanna Eudora Kean High School as salutatorian and attended Spelman College. She earned a Ph.D. in pharmacology from Emory University, pursued postdoctoral studies at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, and received tenure at Georgia Tech in 2008 before moving to U.C. San Diego.
In spite of her many accolades, “She never put on airs,” Gwendolyn said. “She never made you call her ‘Doctor Sewer.’ She was just not that kind of person. She did everything with grace and dignity, and integrity was most important to her.”
Marion loved gathering with her family members in the states during the holidays, Gwendolyn said, but was fiercely committed to her research. “We’d be cooking Thanksgiving dinner, and she said she had to leave to run to the lab — she said she’d be back soon, but she had to feed the liver cells she was culturing.”
Marion Sewer was deeply committed to uplifting underrepresented minorities in the sciences and was beloved by “so many students from around the world” with whom she kept in touch, Gwendolyn said.
According to the ASBMB website, “Despite all of her scientific achievements, Sewer confessed to suffering from impostor syndrome from time to time, a common condition among high achievers, and particularly underrepresented minorities, who often feel unworthy of their status or the praise that they receive. She wrote very eloquently on the subject in the Dec. 2015 issue of ASBMB Today, explaining how to identify it, cope with it and finally overcome it.”
Molecular Biology website)
Applicants to the Marion B. Sewer Distinguished Scholarship for Undergraduates must be or become a member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, have a minimum GPA of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale, and be a U.S. citizen/national/permanent resident or have DACA status in order to apply for a $2,000 grant.
