Mary Munson

Mary Munson
Mary Munson, standing in her laboratory
EducationA.B. Washington University in St. Louis 1989
Ph.D. Yale University 1996
Postdoc Princeton University
Scientific career
Fieldscell biology
biochemistry
structural biology
WorkplacesUMass Chan Medical School
WebsiteMary Munson lab

Mary Munson is an American biologist who is a professor of biochemistry & molecular biotechnology and Associate Vice Provost for Equity in Science at UMass Chan Medical School.[1] Her research investigates regulation of membrane trafficking in cells, and in particular how membrane-bound vesicles dock with target compartments with spatial and temporal specificity.[2] She is also active in improving the culture of science.[3][4][5][6]

Education and training

Munson was a double major in Chemistry and Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her Ph.D. in Lynne Regan's lab at Yale University in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry with a thesis entitled, "The role of hydrophobic core packing in the structure and stability of the four-helix-bundle protein Rop".[7] She completed postdoctoral research on regulation of SNARE assembly and disassembly in Fred Hughson's lab at Princeton University, supported by an NIH National Research Service Award and an American Heart Association fellowship.[8][9]

Research and career

Munson runs a research lab that investigates regulation of membrane trafficking, using yeast and mammalian cells and applying techniques of biochemistry, structural biology, cell biology, and biophysics.[10] The lab's research has uncovered mechanisms of exocytosis and endocytosis with both basic science and medical relevance.[11] The lab's research is supported by the National Institutes of Health.[12][13]

Munson was appointed to the faculty at the UMass Chan Medical School in 2001.[14] She was appointed as Vice Chair in the Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biotechnology in 2021,[15] as UMass Chan Medical School's Assistant Vice Provost for Health Equity in 2022,[16] and as Associate Vice Provost for Equity in Science, Office of Health Equity in 2024.[17] She has served as faculty advisor for UMass Chan's student chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, or SACNAS.[18]

Munson was elected as the 2025 President of the American Society for Cell Biology,[19] where she has also served as co-chair of the ASCB's Women in Cell Biology committee and co-investigator of the Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers, or MOSAIC, program for select K99/R00 scholars.[20][21]

Honors and awards

Publications

Munson has more than 75 publications on membrane traffic mechanisms and on assessing and improving the culture of scientific communities.[22]

References

  1. ↑ "Mary Munson, PhD, Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biotechnology, UMass Chan Medical School". 24 March 2020.
  2. ↑ "Mary Munson, Ph.D." 2 February 2024.
  3. ↑ "Mary Munson, Ph.D." 2 February 2024.
  4. ↑ Bhalla, Needhi; Trejo, JoAnn; Munson, Mary (November 2025). "Scaling back DEI programmes and the loss of scientific talent". Nature Cell Biology. 27 (11): 1881–1883. doi:10.1038/s41556-025-01797-5. PMID 41131402.
  5. ↑ Harley, Sadie (October 24, 2025). "A research-backed defense of DEI programs". Phys.org.
  6. ↑ Fulgione, Stephanie (18 October 2024). "Association for Women in Science Announces 2024 Annual Award Winners The Association for Women in Science". AWIS.
  7. ↑ "Yale Library catalog".
  8. ↑ Munson, Mary; Hughson, Frederick M. (March 2002). "Conformational Regulation of SNARE Assembly and Disassembly in Vivo". Journal of Biological Chemistry. 277 (11): 9375–9381. doi:10.1074/jbc.M111729200. PMID 11777922.
  9. ↑ Hughson, Frederick M.; Munson, Mary; Chen, Xin; Cocina, Amy E.; Schultz, Susan M. (1 October 2000). "[No title found]". Nature Structural Biology. 7 (10): 894–902. doi:10.1038/79659. PMID 11017200.
  10. ↑ "Munson lab web site". 5 September 2013.
  11. ↑ "Honors for Loertscher, Munson, Serio". www.asbmb.org.
  12. ↑ Sargent, Pat (9 August 2023). "Munson lab receives NIH award for research on intracellular cargo transport". UMass Chan Medical School.
  13. ↑ Sargent, Pat (14 January 2025). "New research examines mechanisms of protein complex at basic cell biological level". UMass Chan Medical School.
  14. ↑ Tehan, Isabel (28 July 2023). "UMass Chan professor elected president of American Society for Cell Biology". Worcester Business Journal.
  15. ↑ "Leadership - Biochemistry & Molecular Biotechnology Department (BMB)". UMass Chan Medical School. 23 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "Mary Munson named assistant vice provost of health equity at UMass Chan". UMass Chan Medical School. 19 October 2022.
  17. ↑ Sargent, Pat (12 June 2025). "Kristen Matteson and Mary Munson selected for Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine Program for Women". UMass Chan Medical School.
  18. ↑ "Honors for Loertscher, Munson, Serio". www.asbmb.org.
  19. ↑ Tehan, Isabel (28 July 2023). "UMass Chan professor elected president of American Society for Cell Biology". Worcester Business Journal.
  20. ↑ "Honors for Loertscher, Munson, Serio". www.asbmb.org.
  21. ↑ "Munson co-leads ASCB MOSAIC; Garcia wins HUPO award; remembering Robert Simoni". www.asbmb.org. ASBMB Today, The Member Magazine Of The American society for biochemistry and molecular biology.
  22. ↑ "ResearchGate: Mary Munson".
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