Linsey Marr

Linsey Chen Marr is an American scientist who is the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her research considers the interaction of nanomaterials and viruses with the atmosphere. During the COVID-19 pandemic Marr studied how SARS-CoV-2 and other airborne pathogens could be transported in air.

Linsey Chen Marr
Alma materHarvard University
University of California, Berkeley
Scientific career
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Virginia Tech
ThesisChanges in ozone sensitivity to precursor emissions on diurnal, weekly, and decadal time scales (2002)

Early life and education

Marr studied engineering at Harvard University and graduated summa cum laude in 1996. During her undergraduate degree Marr developed an energy efficient lamp.[1] She moved to the University of California, Berkeley for her graduate studies, where she worked in the department of environmental engineering. Her doctoral research considered how ozone levels were impacted by transport, population and industrial development.[2] Marr joined Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a postdoctoral researcher, where she worked alongside Mario J. Molina.[3] At MIT, she collected data to better understand pollution in Mexico, joining a measurement campaign on board a mobile scientific laboratory.[3] As part of the campaign Marr tried to track down Mexico's most significant polluters, following taxi drivers as they made their way around Mexico City.[3] The research informed environmental policy in Mexico and was proposed as a means to protect the inhabitants of other over polluted megacities.[3]

Research and career

Marr joined the faculty at Virginia Tech in 2003, where she established her own research group that investigates engineered nanomaterials interact with the atmosphere.[4] Marr showed that when released into the air, engineered nanomaterials can aggregate with other matter to form structures of various sizes (in the nm and μm length scales).

Beyond nanomaterials, Marr has considered how airborne pathogens pollute the atmosphere. To Marr, airborne pathogens are self-replicating assemblies of nanoparticles. In 2013 she was award a National Institutes of Health (NIH) New Innovator award to study virus transmission by bioaerosols.[5] Her early research considered the spread of influenza, looking at the viral concentration in the air of aeroplanes and play centres. She showed that it was in childcare centres that the influenza viral load was highest, and it was the lowest in hospitals.[4] In an attempt to understand these findings, Marr has studied the viral and bacterial microbiome in different environments.[4] Marr has demonstrated that viruses were more active in very high (> 98%) and relatively low (< 50%) humidity. In an effort to establish the dynamics of these pathogens, Marr has developed sensitive, multi-layer sensors. The sensors include a custom-DNA that has been designed to immobilise specific viruses, which are subsequently bound to another DNA strand which can be attached to a gold nanoparticle for viral detection using Raman spectroscopy.

Alongside virus transmission and nanomaterial – atmosphere interactions, Marr has investigated the emissions and transport of air pollutants.[6] She was appointed the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2018.[6]

COVID-19

During the COVID-19 pandemic Marr studied airborne disease transmission of SARS-CoV-2.[7][8] She believed that the virus could be transmitted via inhalation of air contaminated with SARS-CoV-2 aerosols.[9][10][11] Throughout the pandemic, Marr provided advice to the general public about the transmission of airborne viruses, and how they interacted with and survived on surfaces.[12][13][14] Marr said that she would be concerned about transmission of the virus in elevators, because they have little mechanical ventilation and are a confined space in which the virus may spread.[15] After the Skagit County chorale resulted in 75% of the choir members falling ill with coronavirus disease, Marr told the Los Angeles Times that the event should be a "wake up call" to members of the public who thought social distancing was over the top.[16][17] As for other mechanisms by which the virus may spread, Marr has remarked that there is no such thing as a "safe" distance to stay from one another.[18] She said that infected runners may release more virus into the air than walkers, because they would be breathing harder, but that they would also create a more turbulent stream of air around them, which could act to dilute the viral load.[19] She recommended that runners keep at least ten feet apart from other members of the public.[19][20] In early April 2020 Marr told Chemical & Engineering News that she believed that face masks should be worn to prevent the spread of the virus.[7][21] Marr predicted that the viral transmission may decrease slightly during the summer, but that the difference would not be particularly significant as people spend more time in air conditioned rooms.[22]

Awards and honours

Selected publications
  • Marr, Linsey C.; Kirchstetter, Thomas W.; Harley, Robert A.; Miguel, Antonio H.; Hering, Susanne V.; Hammond, S. Katharine (1999). "Characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Motor Vehicle Fuels and Exhaust Emissions". Environmental Science & Technology. 33 (18): 3091–3099. Bibcode:1999EnST...33.3091M. doi:10.1021/es981227l. ISSN 0013-936X.[29]
  • Wills, Zachary; Marr, Linsey; Zinn, Kai; Goodman, Corey S; Van Vactor, David (1999). "Profilin and the Abl Tyrosine Kinase Are Required for Motor Axon Outgrowth in the Drosophila Embryo". Neuron. 22 (2): 291–299. doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(00)81090-9. ISSN 0896-6273. PMID 10069335.[30]
  • Marr, Linsey C.; Harley, Robert A. (2002). "Spectral analysis of weekday–weekend differences in ambient ozone, nitrogen oxide, and non-methane hydrocarbon time series in California". Atmospheric Environment. 36 (14): 2327–2335. Bibcode:2002AtmEn..36.2327M. doi:10.1016/s1352-2310(02)00188-7. ISSN 1352-2310.[31]

In 2016 Marr was appointed to the editorial board of Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.[32]

Personal life

Marr has two children.[33] She is an ironman triathlete.[4]

References
  1. Marr, Linsey (1996). An energy efficient lamp energy savings at Harvard (Thesis). OCLC 232369208.
  2. Marr, Linsey Chen; University of California, Berkeley (2002). Changes in ozone sensitivity to precursor emissions on diurnal, weekly, and decadal time scales. OCLC 892829595.
  3. "Smog Patrol". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  4. "Linsey Marr studies health impacts of engineered nanomaterials". www.vtnews.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  5. "National Institutes of Health New Innovator Award to study flu virus goes to Linsey Marr". www.vtnews.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  6. "Linsey Marr appointed Charles P. Lunsford Professor". www.vtnews.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  7. "Why the best material for a homemade coronavirus face mask is hard to identify". Chemical & Engineering News. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  8. Harris, Robbie. "COVID-19 Travels in the Air Study Says". www.wvtf.org. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  9. "Scientists Probe How Coronavirus Might Travel Through The Air". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  10. "The Charles Edward Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech". www.cee.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  11. M, Apoorva; avilli. "How long will coronavirus live on surfaces or in the air around you?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  12. Parker-Pope, Tara (2020-04-17). "Is the Virus on My Clothes? My Shoes? My Hair? My Newspaper?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  13. "How long can coronavirus live on surfaces or in the air?". The Economic Times. 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  14. Schwiegershausen, Erica (2020-04-09). "How Long Can the Coronavirus Live on Surfaces?". The Cut. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  15. Godoy, Laurel Wamsley, Maria. "Coronavirus FAQs: Can Sunlight Kill The Virus? How Risky Is An Elevator Ride?". www.wesa.fm. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  16. "Super-Spreading Event In Washington Suggests Coronavirus Is Airborne Without Coughs or Sneezes". SFist - San Francisco News, Restaurants, Events, & Sports. 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  17. "A choir decided to go ahead with rehearsal. Now dozens of members have COVID-19 and two are dead". Los Angeles Times. 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  18. "Is Six Feet Enough? Sometimes, Maybe | Applied Ecology | NC State University". 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  19. "How Runners Can Keep Themselves And Others Safe During The Pandemic". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  20. "Are Running or Cycling Actually Risks for Spreading Covid-19?". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  21. Kaufman, Mark. "Wearing a coronavirus face mask isn't about you". Mashable. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  22. Silver, Stephen (2020-04-21). "Don't Count on the Coronavirus Going Away This Summer". The National Interest. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  23. "National Institutes of Health New Innovator Award to study flu virus goes to Linsey Marr". www.vtnews.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  24. "Excellence in Research". eng.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  25. "Civil engineering professor Linsey Marr appointed to visionary committee tackling 21st-century issues". www.vtnews.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  26. "Academy - International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate". www.isiaq.org. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  27. "Linsey Marr receives Excellence in Teaching Award". www.vtnews.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  28. "Linsey Marr appointed to National Academies' Board on Environmental Studies and Toxicology". www.vtnews.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-04-23.
  29. Marr, Linsey C.; Kirchstetter, Thomas W.; Harley, Robert A.; Miguel, Antonio H.; Hering, Susanne V.; Hammond, S. Katharine (1999). "Characterization of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Motor Vehicle Fuels and Exhaust Emissions". Environmental Science & Technology. 33 (18): 3091–3099. Bibcode:1999EnST...33.3091M. doi:10.1021/es981227l. ISSN 0013-936X.
  30. Wills, Zachary; Marr, Linsey; Zinn, Kai; Goodman, Corey S; Van Vactor, David (1999). "Profilin and the Abl Tyrosine Kinase Are Required for Motor Axon Outgrowth in the Drosophila Embryo". Neuron. 22 (2): 291–299. doi:10.1016/s0896-6273(00)81090-9. ISSN 0896-6273. PMID 10069335.
  31. Marr, Linsey C.; Harley, Robert A. (2002). "Spectral analysis of weekday–weekend differences in ambient ozone, nitrogen oxide, and non-methane hydrocarbon time series in California". Atmospheric Environment. 36 (14): 2327–2335. Bibcode:2002AtmEn..36.2327M. doi:10.1016/s1352-2310(02)00188-7. ISSN 1352-2310.
  32. "New appointments to the Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts Advisory Board – Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts blog". Retrieved 2020-04-22.
  33. "Virginia Tech's Linsey Marr studies health impacts of engineered nanomaterials". Augusta Free Press. 2015-01-18. Retrieved 2020-04-22.
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