Maren K. Levin, MS

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) Student

Maren Levin headshot

Education & Affiliations

MS: The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, 2003
BS: Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, 1998
Member: American Society of Oncology (ASCO)
Student Member: American Public Health Association (APHA)
Student Member: National Association for Doctors of Public Health (NADrPH)

Biography

Maren K. Levin, MS, has a background in genetics and cellular and molecular biology, with nearly 20 years of experience as a medical and scientific writer in breast cancer research. She has authored or co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed articles and abstracts that have been published in journals such as Cancer Research and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. She has been invited to present her work at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting. Inspired by her son with autism, she returns to school to pursue a long-time dream of public health.

In her personal life, Maren serves as the co-founder and nonprofit board president of KITE Academy, a private school in Houston, Texas, for children with autism that need behavioral support while learning. 

Education:

Maren received her Bachelor of Science degree in Genetics at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. She went on to obtain a Master of Science degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She is currently in her second year at Tulane University in the Online DrPH in Leadership, Advocacy, and Equity program.

Memberships:

Maren is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Public Health Association, and the National Association for Doctors of Public Health.

Research Areas

Maren’s doctoral portfolio work will be within oncology, specifically addressing access to and increased awareness of cancer genetic counseling for hereditary cancers. A personal interest is to advocate for the autism community, especially for those individuals affected more profoundly.

Honors & Awards

•    Omega Nu Lambda National Honor Society for Online Students, Kappa Chapter
•    National Hispanic Scholar
•    Alpha Zeta Professional Fraternity
•    2024 Tulane Delta Omega Poster Competition
•    2024 Tulane Research, Innovation, & Creativity Summit (TRICS)

Publications

Select Publications:

  1. Blas P, San Roman Rodriguez E, Williams HL, Levin MK, Bell JSK, Pierobon M, Barrett AS, Petricoin EF, O’Shaughnessy JA. Targeting HER2/HER3 co-mutations in metastatic breast cancer: Case reports of exceptional responders to trastuzumab and pertuzumab therapy. Cancer Rep (Hoboken). 7(3):e1954, 2024.
  2. Lang JD, Nguyen TVV, Levin MK, Blas PE, Williams HL, San Roman Rodriguez E, Briones N, Mueller C, Selleck W, Moore S, Zismann VL, Hendricks WPD, Espina V, O’Shaughnessy J. Pilot clinical trial and phenotypic analysis in chemotherapy-pretreated, metastatic triple-negative breast cancer patients treated with oral TAK-228 and TAK-117 (PIKTOR) to increase DNA damage repair deficiency followed by cisplatin and nab paclitaxel. Biomark Res, 11:73, 2023.
  3. O’Shaughnessy JA, Levin MK, San Roman Rodriguez E, Lu J, Jones JT, Anderson AKL, Tubbs A, Schonhoft JD, Wenstrup R. Circulating tumor cells (CTCs), CTC heterogeneity and distinct morphological CTC subtypes predict worse survival in metastatic breast cancer (MBC). Cancer Res 82(4 Suppl): Abstract P2-02-03, 2022.
  4. Ghergurovich JM, Lang JD, Levin MK, Briones N, Facista SJ, Mueller C, Cowan A, McBride ML, Rodriguez ESR, Killian A, Dao T, Lamont J, Barron A, Su X, Hendricks WPD, Espina V, Von Hoff DD, O'Shaughnessy J, Rabinowitz JD. Local production of lactate, ribose-phosphate, and amino acids within human triple negative breast cancer tumors. Med 2(6):736-754, 2021.
  5. O'Shaughnessy J, Rodriguez ESR, Ontiveros P, Wenstrup R, Pramparo T, Lang J, Zismann V, Briones N, Hendricks W, Espina V, Mueller C, Levin MK. Pilot trial of priming with oral TAK-228 and TAK-117 (PIKTOR) to increase DNA damage repair deficiency (DDRD) followed by cisplatin and nab paclitaxel in chemotherapy-pretreated metastatic triple negative breast cancer (metTNBC) pts. Cancer Res 81(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PS11-25, 2021.
  6. Holmes FA, Levin MK, Cao Y, Balasubramanian S, Ross JS, Krekow L, McIntyre K, Osborne C, Espina V, Liotta L, O'Shaughnessy J. Comutation of PIK3CA and TP53 in residual disease after preoperative anti-HER2 therapy in ERBB2 (HER2)-amplified early breast cancer. JCO Precision Oncol 3:1-26, 2019.
  7. Wu T, Xu K, Martinek J, Young RR, Banchereau R, George J, Turner J, Kim KI, Zurawski S, Wang X, Blankenship D, Brookes HM, Marches F, Obermoser G, Lavecchio E, Levin MK, Bae S, Chung C, Smith JL, Cepika A, Oxley KL, Snipes GJ, Banchereau J, Pascual V, O'Shaughnessy J, Palucka AK. IL-1 receptor antagonist controls transcriptional signature of inflammation in patients with metastatic breast cancer. Cancer Res 78(18):5243-5258, 2018.
  8. Chung JH, Pavlick D, Hartmaier R, Schrock AB, Young L, Forcier B, Ye P, Levin MK, Goldberg M, Burris H, Gay LM, Hoffman AD, Stephens PJ, Frampton GM, Lipson DM, Nguyen DM, Ganesan S, Park BH, Vahdat LT, Leyland-Jones B, Mughal TI, Pusztai L, O'Shaughnessy J, Miller VA, Ross JS, Ali SM. Hybrid capture-based genomic profiling of circulating tumor DNA from patients with estrogen receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer. Ann Oncol 28(11):2866-2873, 2017.
  9. Levin MK, Wang K, Yelensky R, Cao Y, Ramos C, Hoke N, Pippen Jr. J, Blum JL, Palmer G, Palma N, Balasubramanian S, Ross JS, O'Shaughnessy J. Genomic alteration in DNA repair and chromatin remodeling genes in estrogen receptor-positive metastatic breast cancer patients with exceptional responses to capecitabine. Cancer Med 4(8):1289-1293, 2015.
  10. Espina V, Levin MK, Carpten JD, Craig DW, Von Hoff D, Liotta LA, O'Shaughnessy J. Triple negative breast cancer metastases: Protein signal transduction networks within the tumor-stromal microenvironment complement genomic analysis and stratify local versus distant metastasis. Cancer Res 75(9_supplement): P1-07-05, 2015.
  11. Fuentes MK, Nigavekar SS, Arumugam T, Logsdon CD, Schmidt AM, Park JC, Huang EH. RAGE Activation by S100P in Colon Cancer Stimulates Cell Growth, Migration, and Cell Signaling Pathways. Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, 50 (8): 1230-1240, 2007.
  12. Modiano JF, Mayor J, Ball C, Fuentes MK, Linthicum DS. CDK4 Expression and activity are required for cytokine-responsiveness in T cells. Journal of Immunology 165(12):6693-6702, 2000.