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Frank Mari (Fed)

Frank Marí has worked extensively with peptides and proteins of marine origin; especially those from predatory venomous mollusks belonging to the genus Conus (cone snails), using an assortment of bioanalytical techniques to biochemically and functionally characterize components of interest. As part of these efforts, he has developed NMR-based structural techniques to study neuroactive marine peptides using nanomolar quantities directly isolated from their natural sources. Frank is also engaged in the development of mass spectrometry and bioinformatics based workflows for "venomics", a comprehensive approach for the screening and identification of neuroactive compounds from the venom of marine organisms. Through venomics, the aim is to intensify the discovery process of marine compounds of neuropharmacological importance and evaluate their potential in human health applications. Frank leads the recently created Marine Biochemical Sciences Team at Hollings Marine Laboratory. The mission of the team is to perform state-of-the-art bioanalytical measurements in samples of marine origin, particularly those samples that have environmental and human health impact.

Membership and Professional Activities

  • Member of the Society for Neuroscience, International Society on Toxinology, Biophysical Society, American Chemical Society

Awards

  • Organizer of the XII Congress of the Pan-American Section of the International Society on Toxinology, Miami Beach, Florida, 2016
  • Keynote Speaker and member of the organizing committee of the Marine Toxins Session of the XI Congress of the Pan-American Section of the International Society on Toxinology, Guarajá, Brazil, 2013
  • Faculty mentor in the NSF Undergraduate Research and Mentoring (URM) program at FAU, 2012
  • Keynote Speaker, Conodays, international meeting dedicated to cone snail research, sponsored by Conco, Zermatt, Switzerland, 2012
  • Keynote Speaker at the FAU Chemistry Club Annual Meeting, 2010
  • Profiled in Chemical Biology & Drug Design, February 2007
  • Selected Speaker, US-Japan Seminar in Marine Natural Products Research, Park City, UT, 2007
  • Selected Speaker, Gordon Research Conference in Marine Natural Products Research, Ventura, CA, 2006
  • Selected Speaker, Gordon Research Conference in Marine Natural Products Research, Ventura, CA, 2004
  • Researcher of the Year Award (Assistant Professor), Florida Atlantic University, 1997-1998
  • National Institute of Health, training fellowship, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, 1992
  • Diabetes Endocrinology Research Center, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, new pilot feasibility studies award, 1992

Selected Publications

Other Publications

Publications

Created October 9, 2019, Updated December 8, 2022