Marcus Garcia, PharmD, RPh ASERT Fellow

University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center Dept. Pharmaceutical Sciences

Email (as a link) marcgarcia@salud.unm.edu

Education

• ASERT Postdoctoral Fellow, University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, Albuquerque, NM 2021- Present
• Clinical Research Fellowship, Rhodes Group/TriCore Reference Laboratories, Albuquerque, NM 2021
• Doctor of Pharmacy, University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, 2020
• MA Human Performance and Sports, New Mexico Highland University, Las Vegas, NM, 2015
• BS Biology, minor in Chemistry, New Mexico Highland University, Las Vegas, NM, 2013

Certifications

• Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) Human Research Curriculum September 2020
• Pharmacy Teaching certification August 2020 - present
• New Mexico State Board of Pharmacy Prescriptive Authority of Vaccines May 2020
• New Mexico State Board of Pharmacy Prescriptive Authority of Emergency Contraception May 2020
• New Mexico State Board of Pharmacy Prescriptive Authority of Tobacco Cessation Product May 2020 Teaching

Teaching Mentor: Terri Koontz, MS, Faculty Math, Science and Engineering, Central New Mexico Community College

Courses Taught:

• Anatomy and Physiology
• Human Biology, section on Reproductive System
• Pathophysiology (PharmD Curriculum)
• Clinical Capstone (PharmD Curriculum)

Current Research: Assessing health impacts of environmental contaminants such as microplastics and heavy metals and development of isolation and quantification techniques of microplastics in biological tissues.

Research Mentors:

• Eliseo Castillo, PhD, Associate Professor, Dept. Medicine, Div. Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center
• Matthew Campen, PhD, Regents' Professor Pharmaceutical Sciences, Director, New Mexico for METALS in Biology, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center

Research Funding:

1. NM-INSPIRES P30ES032755 (research support) Effect of Intranasal Exposure to lnhalable Polymer Fibers and Associated Chemicals on Allergic Inflammation. Marcus Expertise on microplastic quantification and Identification.

2. Center for Native (Active) Environmental Health Equity Research P50MD15706 (research support). Investigator Development Core Pilot Project Award. Quantitation Analysis of Microplastics and Heavy Metals in Human Tissues: Assessing Environmental Contaminants and Potential Health Pilot Project Pl.

Publications:

1. Garcia M, Liu R, Nihart A, El Hayek E, Castillo E, Barrozo ER, Suter MA, Bleske B, Scott J, Gonzalez-Estrella J, Aagaard KM, Campen MJ. Quantitation and Identification of Microplastics Accumulation in Human Placental Specimens using Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry. Toxocological Sciences. 2023 (in Review)
2. Scieszka D, Gu H, Barkley-Levenson A, Barr E, Garcia M, Begay JG, Herbert G, Bhaskar K, McCormick M, Brigman J, Ottens A, Bleske B, Campen Neurometabolomic Impacts of Modeled Wildfire Smoke and Protective Benefits of Anti-Aging Therapeutics in Aged Female C57B:/6J Mice.
3. Garcia MM, Romero AS, Merkley SD, Meyer-Hagen JL, Forbes C, Hayek EE, Scieszka DP, Templeton R, Gonzalez-Estrella J, Jin Y, Gu H, Benavidez A, Hunter RP, Lucas S, Herbert G, Kim KJ, Cui JY, Gullapalli R, In JG, Campen MJ, Castillo EF. In Vivo Tissue Distribution of Microplastics and Systemic Metabolomic Alterations After Gastrointestinal Exposure. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2023 Jun 3:2023.02.542598. doi: 10.1101/2023.06.02.542598. PMID: 37398080; PMCID: PMC10312509.
4. El Hayek E, Castillo E, In JG, Garcia M, Cerrato J, Brearley A, Gonzalez-Estrella J, Herbert G, Bleske B, Benavidez A, Hsiao H, Yin L, Campen MJ, Yu Photoaging of polystyrene microspheres causes oxidative alterations to surface physicochemistry and enhances airway epithelial toxicity. Toxicol Sci. 2023 May 12;193(1):90-102. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfad023. PMID: 36881996; PMCID: PMC10176241.
5. Scieszka D, Jin Y, Noor S, Barr E, Garcia M, Begay J, Herbert G, Hunter RP, Bhaskar K, Kumar R, Gullapalli R, Bolt A, McCormick MA, Bleske B, Gu H, Campen MJ. Biomass smoke inhalation promotes neuroinflammatory and metabolomic temporal changes in the hippocampus of female mice. J Neuroinflammation. 2023 Aug 22;20(1):192. doi: 10.1186/s12974-023-02874-y. PMID: 37608305; PMCID:
6. Scieszka D, Jin Y, Noor S, Barr E, Garcia M, Begay J, Herbert G, Hunter RP, Bhaskar K, Kumar R, Gullapalli R, Bolt A, McCormick MA, Bleske B, Gu H, Campen M. Neuroinflammatory and Metabolomic Temporal Dynamics Following Wood Smoke Inhalation. Res Sq [Preprint]. 2023 Jun 5:3.rs-3002040. doi: 10.21203/rs.3.rs- 3002040/v1. PMID: 37333410; PMCID: PMC10275049.
7. Hunter R, Baird B, Garcia M, Begay J, Goitom S, Lucas S, Herbert G, Scieszka D, Padilla J, Brayer K, Ottens AK, Suter MA, Barrozo ER, Hines C, Bleske B, Campen Gestational Ozone Inhalation Elicits Maternal Cardiac Dysfunction and Transcriptional Changes to Placental Pericytes and Endothelial Cells. Toxicol Sci. 2023 Sep 11:kfad092. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfad092. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 37695302
8. Garcia M, Salazar R, Wilson T, Lucas S, Herbert G, Young T, Begay J, Denson JL, Zychowski K, Ashley R, Byrum S, Mackintosh S, Bleske BE, Ottens AK, Campen Early Gestational Exposure to Inhaled Ozone Impairs Maternal Uterine Artery and Cardiac Function. Toxicol Sci. 2021 Jan 6;179(1):121-134. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfaa164. PMID: 33146391; PMCID: PMC8453811.