David J. Marcey, Ph.D.

About

Dr. Marcey taught and conducted collaborative research with undergraduates at Kenyon College (1990-1999) before joining the faculty of CLU as Fletcher Jones Professor of Developmental Biology. He is a member of Project Kaleidoscope's F21 (Faculty for the 21st Century).

Marcey's research in Drosophila developmental genetics has been funded by the American Cancer Society, NSF, and the Fletcher Jones Foundation. Ongoing projects in his lab include developmental studies of tissue growth regulation, regulation of transgene expression in genetically engineered organisms, and epigenetic variation in natural populations. Marcey regularly accompanies undergraduate researchers to national and regional scientific meetings where they present their Drosophila research to scientific audiences.

Marcey has considerable pedagogical experience with molecular modeling. His website, The Online Macromolecular Museum, pioneered the use of web-based tutorials in teaching aspects of macromolecular structure. His tutorials, often co-authored with undergraduate students, have accompanied several prominent textbooks (Molecular Cell Biology, Immunology, Molecular Biology of the Gene).

Marcey co-edited a book on the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to science, 'Integrated Science -- New Approaches to Education: A Virtual Roundtable' (2008). He has served on the editorial boards of Biochemical and Molecular Biology Education (Elsevier), biomednet.com, and Project MERLOT, an online peer reviewed journal of digital learning tools. He also chaired the Committee of Examiners for the Graduate Record Examination in Biology (Educational Testing Service). Marcey was an early adopter of "flipped" classroom pedagogies that emphasizes "active learning" instead of traditional lectures. His YouTube videos on Introductory Biology and Genetics are routinely viewed by a world wide audience.

In 2012, the National Science Foundation, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the National Institutes of Health selected Dr. Marcey as one of 40 PULSE Vision and Change Leadership Fellows. The Partnership for Undergraduate Life Sciences Education (PULSE) constitutes a community of scientists that are dedicated to improving how modern biology is taught in life sciences departments throughout the nation, using research-based strategies and resources to improve effectiveness and increase diverse representation in STEM majors. In addition to various PULSE activities, he has recently served on the editorial board of Life Sciences Education and on the advisory board of LIFE, an introductory Biology textbook (Sinauer Press). In 2018, Marcey and a group of his students won first place in the Mentored Undergraduate Research competition at the national meeting of NABT (the National Association of Biology Teachers). In 2020, he was elected to the rank of lifetime Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). In April of 2023 two of his research students won an award for the best mentored undergraduate research project in the Genetics section of the West Coast Biological Sciences Undergraduate Research Conference at Loyola Marymount University. 

Education

Marcey received a B.A. in Biology from the College of Wooster and a Ph.D. in Biology (Genetics) from The University of Utah. His postdoctoral work was done at The Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany and at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Expertise

Developmental Biology, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Biology Education Research, Science and Religion

Publications

Books

Shaw, M.C., Marcey, D.J., Brint, M. (eds). 2008. Integrated Science, New
Approaches to Education: a Virtual Roundtable. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.

Articles

Marcey, D.J. and William S. Stark. 1985. The Morphology, Physiology, and
Neural Projections of Supernumerary Compound Eyes in Drosophila melanogaster.
Developmental Biology 107: 180-197.

Marcey, D.J. 1985. The Genetics and Neurobiology of the extra eye Mutation in
Drosophila melanogaster. Ph.D. Thesis, University of Utah.

Baker, W.K., M.C. McElwain and David J. Marcey. 1985. On the Development of
Ectopic Eyes in Drosophila melanogaster Produced by the extra eye Mutation.
Genetics 111: 67-88

Marcey, D.J. and C. Nüsslein-Volhard. 1986. Embryology Goes Fishing. Nature
321: 380- 381.

Seifert, E., Holtkamp, F., Marcey, D.J. and H. Jäckle. 1987. Injection of poly(A)+
RNA Provokes Phenotypic Rescue in spätzle Mutant Drosophila Embryos. Roux's
Arch. Dev. Biol. 196: 78-82.

Hazelrigg, T., Watkins, S., Marcey, D.J., Karow, M., Tu, Chi. 1990. The
exuperantia Gene is Required for Drosophila Spermatogenesis as well as
Anteroposterior Polarity of the Developing Oocyte, and Encodes Overlapping,
Sex-specific Transcripts. Genetics 126: 607-617.

Marcey, D., Watkins, S., and T. Hazelrigg. 1991. The Temporal and Spatial
Distribution Pattern of Maternal exuperantia Protein: Evidence for a Role in
Establishment but not Maintenance of bicoid mRNA Localization. EMBO Journal,
10: 4259-4266.

Edwards, K., T. Davis, D. Marcey, J. Kurihara, D. Yamamoto. 2001. Comparative
Analysis of the Band 4.1/ezrin-related Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Pez from
Two Drosophila Species: Implication for Structure and Function. Gene 275: 195-
205.

Ann Finney Batiza, Mary Gruhl, Bo Zhang, Tom Harrington, Marisa Roberts,
Donna LaFlamme, Mary Anne Haasch, Jonathan Knopp, Gina Vogt David
Goodsell, Eric Hagedorn, David J. Marcey, Mark Hoelzer, and David Nelson.
2013. The Effects of the SUN Project on Teacher Knowledge and Self-Efficacy
Regarding Biological Energy Transfer are Significant and Long-Lasting – Results
of a Randomized Controlled Trial. CBE Life Sci Educ June 3, 2013 12:287-305;
doi:10.1187/cbe.12-09-0155.

David J. Marcey. 2014. The Lecture Hall as an Arena of Inquiry: Using Cinematic
Lectures and Inverted Classes (CLIC) to Flip an Introductory Biology Lecture
Course. In Blended Learning, Case Studies on Digital Collaboration and
Blended/Hybrid Learning: 2014 Special Issue, The Academic Commons.

World Wide Web/CD Publications (*Peer Reviewed or **Invited, #undergraduate co-authors)

**Marcey, D. (1998). For The Biology Place (www.biology.com), a reviewed
website published by Peregrine Publishers, Inc. (Boston): 1) a series of reviews of
recent research for the “Research News” section and “best of the web” (1998); 2)
A tutorial on the use of molecular modeling software in classroom (1998).

**Marcey, D. (1999). For The Chemistry Place (www.chemplace.com), a reviewed
website published by Peregrine Publishers, Inc. (Boston), a tutorial on the use of
molecular modeling software in classroom.

**Marcey, D.J. (1999) For Botany Online, the internet hypertexbook of the XVI
International Botanical Congress, St. Louis, MO: “The Online Macromolecular
Museum”

**Marcey, D.J. (2000). Molecular Visualization for the Masses. H.M.S. Beagle 90,
Nov. 10 (biomednet.com)
(http://news.bmn.com/hmsbeagle/90/reviews/insitu).

*Marcey, D. (2000, 2004). Antibody Recognition of Epitope. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Immunology (Kuby) 4e, 5e. W.H. Freeman,
New York.

*Marcey, D. (2000, 2004). An Introduction to Immunoglobulin Structure. A webbased
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Immunology (Kuby) 4e, 5e.
W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D. and Mazur, E.# (2000, 2004). Viral Antigens. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Immunology (Kuby) 4e, 5e. W.H. Freeman,
New York.

*Marcey, D. and Goldman, M. # (2000, 2004). HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase. A
web-based Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Immunology (Kuby) 4e,
5e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D. (2001). Amino Acid Structures. A web-based Chime macromolecular
tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.) 4e. W.H. Freeman,
New York.

*Marcey, D. (2001). Chemical Bonding in Protein Structure. A web-based Chime
macromolecular
tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.) 4e. W.H. Freeman,
New York.

*Marcey, D. (2001). The Beta Subunit of E. coli DNA Polymerase III. A web-based
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.)
4e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D. and Goldman, M.# (2001). HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase. A webbased
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology
(Lodish, et al.) 4e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D. and Ward, M# (2001). The Bacteriphage T7 DNA Replication
Complex. A web-based Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular
Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.) 4e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

* Millard, E#., Downs, A#, and Marcey, D. (2001). Hin Recombinase. A web-based
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.)
4e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D., and Walsh, M.# (2001). HIV-1 Integrase. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.) 4e.
W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Heerson, H. #, Downs, A.# and Marcey, D. (2001). The RecA Recombinase. A
web-based Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology
(Lodish, et al.) 4e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Kysela, D.#, and Marcey, D. (2001). Topoisomerase I. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.) 4e.
W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Douglass, B.#, Downs, A.#, and Marcey, D. (2001). HhaI Methylase. A web-based
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.)
4e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Ward, M.#, and Marcey, D. (2001). Fibronectin. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.) 4e.
W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Flammer, K.#, Downs, A.#, and Marcey, D. (2001). E. coli Porins. A web-based
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.)
4e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Fries, D.#, and Marcey, D. (2001). DNA Polymerase Beta. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.) 4e.
W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D. (2001). The Signal Recognition Particle Core of E. coli. A web-based
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.)
4e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D. (2001). U1A RNA Spliceosomal Protein. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Cell Biology (Lodish, et al.) 4e.
W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D. (2004). An Introduction to DNA Structure. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D., and Levi, S.# (2004). Bacteriophage 434 Repressor Protein. A webbased
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2004). E. coli Catabolite Activator Protein. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2004). Cre Recombinase. A web-based Chime macromolecular
tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et al.) 5e. Benjamin
Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D, and Silva, N.# (2004). Green Fluorescent Protein. A web-based
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2004). An Introduction to Nucleosome Structure. A web-based
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D., and Crenwelge, C.# (2004). A Hammerhead Ribozyme. A web-based
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D., and Stoffregen, E.# (2004). MutS, a DNA Repair Enzyme. A webbased
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2004). The Beta Subunit of DNA Polymerase III (E. coli). A webbased
Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2004). An Introduction to Ribosome Structure. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D, and Silva, N.# (2004). RNA Polymerase. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2004). The ruvA Recombination Protein. A web-based Chime
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D., and Ward, M.# (2004). The Bacteriophage T7 DNA Polymerase. A
web-based Chime macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the
Gene (Watson, et al.) 5e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2006). Antibody Recognition of Epitope. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Immunology (Kuby) 6e. W.H. Freeman,
New York.

*Marcey, D. (2006). An Introduction to Immunoglobulin Structure. A web-based
Jmol macromolecular tutorial to accompany Immunology (Kuby) 6e. W.H.
Freeman, New York.

*Marcey, D. (2006). HIV-1 Glycoprotein 120. A web-based Jmol macromolecular
tutorial to
accompany Immunology (Kuby) 6e. W.H. Freeman, New York.

*Mazur, E.#, and Marcey, D. (2006). Influenza Hemagglutinin. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Immunology (Kuby) 6e. W.H. Freeman,
New York.

*Marcey, D. (2006). HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Immunology (Kuby) 6e. W.H. Freeman,
New York.

*Marcey, D. (2007). An Introduction to DNA Structure. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press.

*Marcey, D., and Levi, S.# (2007). Bacteriophage 434 Repressor Protein. A webbased
Jmol macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory Press.

*Marcey, D. (2007). E. coli Catabolite Activator Protein. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press.

*Marcey, D. (2007). Cre Recombinase. A web-based Jmol macromolecular tutorial
to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et al.) 6e. Benjamin
Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

*Marcey, D. (2007). An Introduction to Nucleosome Structure. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press.

*Marcey, D., and Crenwelge, C.# (2007). A Hammerhead Ribozyme. A web-based
Jmol macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory Press.

*Marcey, D., and Stoffregen, E.# (2007). MutS, a DNA Repair Enzyme. A webbased
Jmol macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory Press.

*Marcey, D. (2007). The Beta Subunit of DNA Polymerase III (E. coli). A webbased
Jmol macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene
(Watson, et al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory Press.

*Marcey, D. (2007). An Introduction to Ribosome Structure. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press.

*Marcey, D, and Silva, N.# (2007). RNA Polymerase. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press.

*Marcey, D. (2007). The ruvA Recombination Protein. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press.

*Marcey, D., and Ward, M.# (2007). The Bacteriophage T7 DNA Polymerase. A
web-based Jmol macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the
Gene (Watson, et al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor
Laboratory Press.

*Marcey, D. (2007). The RecBCD Recombination Complex. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press.

*Marcey, D. (2007). The Argonaute Protein, the Slicer of RNAi. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany Molecular Biology of the Gene (Watson, et
al.) 6e. Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Press.

*Marcey, D. (2011). The Structure of tRNA and tRNA Synthetases. A web-based
Jmol macromolecular tutorial to accompany The World of the Cell(Becker, et al.) 8e.
Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2011). The Structures of Actin and Mysosin . A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany The World of the Cell(Becker, et al.) 8e.
Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2011). ATP Synthase, a Molecular Rotor. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany The World of the Cell(Becker, et al.) 8e.
Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D. (2011). The Voltage-Gated Potassium Channel. A web-based Jmol
macromolecular tutorial to accompany The World of the Cell(Becker, et al.) 8e.
Pearson/Benjamin Cummings, San Francisco.

*Marcey, D., and P. DaSilva# (2013). Structure of The Photosystem II Protein
Complex. A web-based Jmol tutorial to accompany the SUN (Students
Understanding Energy) Project and Photosynthesis e-book, Milwaukee School of
Engineering.

*Marcey, D., and P. DaSilva# (2013). Structure of The Cytochrome b6f Protein
Complex. A web-based Jmol tutorial to accompany the SUN (Students
Understanding Energy) Project and Photosynthesis e-book, Milwaukee School of
Engineering.

*Marcey, D., and P. DaSilva# (2013). Structure of The Photosystem I Protein
Complex. A web-based Jmol tutorial to accompany the SUN (Students
Understanding Energy) Project and Photosynthesis e-book, Milwaukee School of
Engineering.

*Marcey, D., and P. DaSilva# (2013). Structure of The Ferrodoxin-Fd
Oxidoreductase Protein Complex. A web-based Jmol tutorial to accompany the
SUN (Students Understanding Energy) Project and Photosynthesis e-book,
Milwaukee School of Engineering.

Grant Funding

1996 ….. American Cancer Society ($20,000). PI, “Transcriptional Responses to Oxidative Stresss”

1997 ….. NSF-ILI ($48,000). Co-PI, “Laboratory Exercises in Developmental Neuroscience”

1999 ….. NSF-ILI ($36,000). PI, “Equipment for Investigative Experiments in Cell Biology”

1999 ….. Parsons Foundation (. $75,000) (PI, with CLU Development Office) “Equipment for Integrating Cellular Studies into an Undergraduate Curriculum”

2000 ….. The W.M. Keck Foundation ($500,000). PI, “A Center for Scientific Visualization”

2001 ….. NSF-MRI (Major Research Instrumentation - $79,214). Co-PI with Dennis Revie, “Acquisition of Equipment for Genomics Research”

2002….. Stauffer Foundation ($750,000) (with Dean Brint and the CLU Development Office). Grant to fund the Stauffer Assistant Professor of Applied Analytical Chemistry

2004 ….. NSF-CCLI ($42,000). PI, “Equipment for an Investigative Introductory Biology Laboratory”

2013 ….. NSF ($17,900). PI, “Conference of PULSE Vision and Change Leadership Fellows”

2013 ….. NSF ($287,000). Co-PI with Nitya Jacob and Alix Fink, “A Vision for Change: Using ATP (Ambassador Training Program) to Energize Departmental Transformation”

2016 ..... The W.M. Keck Foundation ($300,000). PI, "An Advanced Instrumentation Suite for the Life Sciences"

2017 ..... NSF ($49, 180). PI, "A Southern California PULSE Institute"

2018 .....NSF-RCN-UBE ($75,000). (Co-PI, with Shuchi Dutta, PI, Rutgers University). "Preparing a Network to Develop Molecular Case Studies at the Interface of Biology and Chemistry"