Dr. Margie Moczygemba grew up in the beautiful Rio Grande Valley, specifically Brownsville, Texas. Her academic journey began at Texas A&M University, Kingsville, where she received a bachelor’s and master’s in biology. Coincidentally, this is where she met her husband, Corwin, who was getting an undergraduate degree, and they married two years later. Now, 33 years later, they have two young adult children, Ian and Chloe, two miniature schnauzers, and a calico cat.
The summer before her senior year in college, she was introduced to scientific research. She had the tremendous opportunity to work in a nationally recognized snake venom research lab, now called the National Natural Toxins Research Center. “Working in this laboratory is where I discovered the thrill of scientific discovery, and it laid the foundation for my future career in academic research,” Moczygemba remarked.
After completing her master’s degree, she and her family moved to New York, where she pursued a Doctor of Philosophy in molecular and cell biology from Stony Brook University. She conducted her doctoral research in Dr. Nancy Reich’s laboratory, where she focused on studying interferon signal transduction. At the time, she had no idea that the signaling pathway she was researching would become one of the most targeted pathways for treating inflammatory diseases – the JAK-STAT signaling pathway.
“During this time, it was the many challenges and little victories of my Ph.D. studies that further solidified my love of scientific inquiry and drove me to continue the quest for understanding how cells work,” Moczygemba emphasized. She has devoted her entire academic research career to understanding how cells communicate with each other to alter their behavior in response to specific signals. “To this day, I still marvel at cells under the microscope, exploring their shape, intracellular protein, protein interactions, and function. Honestly, investigating cell biology never gets old to me,” she added.
After she finished her Ph.D. studies, her husband’s job brought them to Houston, Texas, home of the Texas Medical Center. She did her postdoctoral training at Baylor College of Medicine in Dr. David Huston’s laboratory, where she further deepened her knowledge of cytokine signaling in the context of allergic inflammation and asthma. This training provided the future direction of her independent research in immune cell biology.
After completing postdoctoral training, she was recruited by Dr. Huston to join Texas A&M School of Medicine (SOM) as an assistant professor in the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis and Immunology. Her laboratory was housed at the Institute of Biosciences and Technology (IBT) in Houston, and over time, her faculty appointment evolved to become full-time. She’s now a research associate professor at IBT.
In 2018, the Texas A&M School of Engineering Medicine (EnMed) was established. In collaboration with Dr. Peter Davies, Dr. Pettigrew recruited Moczygemba, to be part of Operation 12th Man – Dr. Pettigrew’s strategic plan to take the School of Medicine’s curriculum and convert it to a flipped classroom format blended with engineering. Moczygemba recalled, “This was the beginning of EnMed, and I was part of a team that built it.”
As an educator at EnMed, Moczygemba has been the co-course director of the M1 course Introduction to Disease and Immunology and still regularly teaches graduate student courses at the Texas A&M School of Medicine. Most recently, Moczygemba accepted an administrative position at EnMed to serve on Dean Pettigrew’s leadership team as advisor to the dean for internal affairs. In this role, she liaises with the dean’s office, faculty and student affairs. She also serves on many IBT Student Thesis Advisory and Graduate Program Committees, the SOM curriculum committee, and as associate director of Academic Affairs for over five years at IBT.
She is also the director of the CPRIT-funded High Throughput Flow Cytometry core facility for cancer drug discovery in collaboration with her colleagues, Dr. Cliff Stephan and Dr. Reid Powell, at TMC3 Helix Park.
As the principal investigator of her research laboratory for the past 20 years, she has led and managed her laboratory and mentored many graduate students, postdocs, lab managers, technicians, and research scientists. “My laboratory has made many contributions to the field of interleukin-5 signal transduction and IL-5 receptor down-regulation and has had several NIH-funded grants throughout the years,” Moczygemba pointed out.
Despite Moczygemba’s academic pursuits and thriving career in science, a lesser-known side to her past often surprises many. In her mid-20s, she became a certified aerobics instructor and competitive bodybuilder, achieving a remarkable third place in her final meet in New York. However, as the demands of graduate school grew, she made the tough decision to say goodbye to competitive bodybuilding, opting instead to direct her energy toward her budding academic journey. She still maintains her dedication to fitness amidst her career and family commitments.
Guided by Louis Pasteur’s words, “Chance favors the prepared mind,” Moczygemba embodies the spirit of serendipity and scientific discovery, using this sentiment to propel her research endeavors. This philosophy shows her relentless pursuit of knowledge, readiness, and open-mindedness by embracing both academic challenges and life’s possibilities.
As an educator, mentor, and administrator, Dr. Margie Moczygemba continues to guide students and colleagues, leaving a lasting impact in immunology, cell biology, and medical education. Her journey to the forefront of scientific research and education symbolizes her passion for discovery and dedication to fostering the next generation of physicianeers.
