Juanita Merchant

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Juanita L. Merchant
Photo of Juanita Merchant
Alma mater
Known for
  • Research on gastric response to chronic inflammation
Scientific career
Fields
  • Medicine
  • Physiology
  • Gastroenterology
Institutions

Juanita L. Merchant is an American gastroenterologist and physiology researcher who has contributed to understanding of gastric response to chronic inflammation.[1][2] She is currently the chief of the University of Arizona Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.[3][4] Merchant was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2008,[5] and appointed an inaugural member of the NIH Council of Councils.[6]

Early life and education[edit]

Merchant grew up in Los Angeles. Her mother was an elementary school teacher.[7] She attended Stanford University, where she received her B.S. degree in biology. She went on to Yale University where she received both her M.D. and Ph.D. degrees in 1984. Merchant was the first African-American to earn a dual degree in medicine and cell biology from the Yale School of Medicine.[8] She completed her internal medicine residency and a research fellowship in gastroenterology at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and her clinical fellowship in gastroenterology at UCLA.[9] Merchant is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in both Internal Medicine (1987) and Gastroenterology (1993).[10]

Research and career[edit]

After completing her clinical fellowship at UCLA in 1991, Merchant was recruited to the University of Michigan, where she was the H. Marvin Pollard Professor of Gastrointestinal Sciences in Internal Medicine in the Division of Gastroenterology and Molecular and Integrative Physiology. She additionally held a faculty appointment in the University of Michigan Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program.[9] In 1994, Merchant was selected as an Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Investigator; this appointment provided support for her research on gastrointestinal-tract cell growth and differentiation until 2002.[11][12] In 2018, Merchant joined the faculty at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, where she is the chief of the UA Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology as well as a professor of medicine in the UA Department of Medicine and a member of the Cancer Biology Research Program at the UA Cancer Center.[13][14]

Merchant's research focuses on molecular mechanisms of gastric cancer biology, in particular the pathways involved in chronic inflammation processes. Since 1993, Merchant has been funded by NIDDK for a project on the "Transcriptional Control of Gastrin," which focuses on understanding the origin of gastrinomas.[15] In 2002, Merchant and collaborators found that antibiotics did a better job of treating gastritis in mice than blocking acid production with proton pump inhibitors.[16] Merchant holds a patent (granted in 2016) for a biomarker that can help diagnose Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Crohn's Disease.[17] In 2018, Merchant was awarded additional NIH funding to study "MDSC Polarization and Helicobacter-Induced Gastric Metaplasia;" this grant will support the study of the role of the Sonic hedgehog (SHH) gene in gastric cancer.[18] Her research has led to authorship or co-authorship on over 100 research publications[19] and she has been the editor or co-editor of multiple books, such as the textbook Physiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract.[20]

Awards and honors[edit]

  • 1998 Elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation[21]
  • 1998 Robert and Sally Funderburg Award for Gastric Cancer, American Gastroenterological Association[22]
  • 2008 Elected to National Academy of Medicine[5]
  • 2008-2016 Member of the NIH Council of Councils[6]
  • 2008 Outstanding AGA Women in Science Honoree[23]
  • 2012 Harold R. Johnson Award for Diversity, University of Michigan[24]
  • 2014 AGA Institute Council Section Research Mentor Award in Cellular & Molecular Gastroenterology[25]
  • 2014 Sarah Goddard Power Award, University of Michigan[26]
  • 2016-2021 Member of the NIDDK Board of Scientific Counselors[27]
  • 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award in Basic Science, American Gastroenterological Association[28]
  • 2019-2022 Member of National Academy of Medicine Governing Council[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Helicobacter, Hedgehog Signaling & Gastric Cancer | Department of Medicine". deptmedicine.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  2. ^ Merchant, JL; Du, M; Todisco, A (19 January 1999). "Sp1 phosphorylation by Erk 2 stimulates DNA binding". Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications. 254 (2): 454–61. doi:10.1006/bbrc.1998.9964. PMID 9918860.
  3. ^ "Faculty and Staff - Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology | Department of Medicine". deptmedicine.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  4. ^ "Message from the Chief | Department of Medicine". deptmedicine.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  5. ^ a b "Juanita L. Merchant". NAM.edu. National Academy of Medicine. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  6. ^ a b "NIH Council of Councils Members Named". NIH.gov. National Institutes of Health. March 24, 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD". University of Michigan Medical School. 2017-02-03. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  8. ^ Blair, Jenny. "A long voyage: Juanita Merchant's trip to the top of her field". Yale School of Medicine. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  9. ^ a b "Juanita Merchant, M.D., Ph.D." Meharry Medical College. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  10. ^ "Juanita Lynne Merchant | ABIM.org". www.abim.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  11. ^ "Juanita L. Merchant". HHMI.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  12. ^ "The New Hughes Investigators". The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  13. ^ "Juanita L. Merchant, MD, PhD | Department of Medicine". deptmedicine.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  14. ^ "National Expert on Colon Cancer Begins as Gastroenterology Chief at UA/Banner | Department of Medicine". deptmedicine.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  15. ^ "2R01DK045729-24A1, TRANSCRIPTIONAL CONTROL OF GASTRIN". projectreporter.nih.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  16. ^ "Pain in the gut? Don't blame stomach acid". EurekAlert!. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  17. ^ "Improving Diagnostics and Treatment for Functional Bowel Disease – Office of Technology Transfer – University of Michigan". techtransfer.umich.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  18. ^ "1R01DK118563-01, MDSC POLARIZATION AND HELICOBACTER-INDUCED GASTRIC METAPLASIA". projectreporter.nih.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  19. ^ "Merchant Juanita - Search Results". PubMed. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  20. ^ Physiology of the gastrointestinal tract. Said, Hamid M.,, Ghishan, Fayez K. (Sixth ed.). London. 8 March 2018. ISBN 978-0-12-812426-0. OCLC 1028731517.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)
  21. ^ "The American Society for Clinical Investigation". Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  22. ^ Goldenring, James R. (2017-05-01). "The AGA/Funderburg Award in Gastric Cancer: Twenty-five Years of Advances in Gastric Cancer Research". Gastroenterology. 152 (6): 1262–1266. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2017.03.010. ISSN 0016-5085. PMID 28327368.
  23. ^ "Two U-M doctors recognized as outstanding women in science by AGA | Michigan Medicine". www.uofmhealth.org. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  24. ^ "Office of the Provost | Harold R. Johnson Diversity Service Award". www.provost.umich.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  25. ^ "AGA Institute Council Section Research Mentor Award". gastroaws.nclud.com. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  26. ^ "Sarah Goddard Power Award | Center for the Education of Women | University of Michigan". www.cew.umich.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  27. ^ "News Around NIDDK, Summer 2018 | Director's Update | NIDDK". National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  28. ^ "Distinguished Achievement Award in Basic Science". American Gastroenterological Association. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
  29. ^ "UA Gastroenterology Chief Dr. Juanita Merchant Elected to National Academy of Medicine Governing Council | Department of Medicine". deptmedicine.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
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