Martha Brown, PhD

Excellence in Undergraduate Life Sciences Laboratory Teaching Award

Affiliation(s):
Associate Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics

Context(s) for Award:
Course development MGY 379 - Microbiology laboratory. 

Dr. Martha Brown is an expert in virology and one of the most visible and active life-science teachers on campus. She teaches both the 3rd year microbiology laboratory course and our 4th year course, Virus-Cell Interactions. In each course she makes significant changes in topics from year to year to reflect current research in virology.

Dr. Brown received her Ph.D. in Microbiology from Queen’s University and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Sherbrooke before coming to SickKids. Dr. Brown began teaching in Microbiology at U of T in 1982 while doing research as a MRC Scholar at Sick Kids. Since joining U of T in the Department of Microbiology, which later merged with the Department of Medical Genetics to form the current Department of Molecular Genetics, Dr. Brown has been active in teaching multiple lecture and laboratory courses at the undergraduate and graduate level and was the Undergraduate Coordinator for the Microbiology program as well as the Molecular Genetics program. She is currently responsible for the third year microbiology laboratory course, a fourth year virology course and a graduate virology course. Dr. Brown’s teaching and course development extend to high school students in her role as Academic-in-Charge of the Microbiology module in the Youth Summer Program.

She has been Biosafety Coordinator for the Medical Sciences Building, then Acting Biosafety Chair for U of T and currently serves as University Biosafety Coordinator for work involving viruses and viral vectors. Dr. Brown’s research focuses on human enteric adenoviruses and on development of antiviral agents to treat serious adenovirus infections.

Reflection
I see my role as a guide to lead students on a discovery tour of the subject, with courses that are engaging and challenging, enabling the students to feel the excitement of discovery. The reward comes in sensing that excitement.