Juanita Merchant facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Juanita L. Merchant
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Alma mater | |
| Known for |
|
| Scientific career | |
| Fields |
|
| Institutions | |
Juanita L. Merchant is an American doctor and scientist. She studies how our bodies, especially the stomach, react to long-term inflammation. Dr. Merchant is a leader in her field. She is currently the head of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology department at the University of Arizona. In 2008, she was chosen to be part of the National Academy of Medicine. This is a very high honor for scientists.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Juanita Merchant grew up in Los Angeles. Her mother was an elementary school teacher. Dr. Merchant went to Stanford University for her first degree in biology.
She then went to Yale University. There, she earned two advanced degrees in 1984. She received her M.D. (Medical Doctor) and Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy) degrees. Dr. Merchant was the first African-American person to get both a medical degree and a cell biology degree from the Yale School of Medicine.
After Yale, she continued her training. She completed her residency at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She also did special fellowships in gastroenterology at the same hospital and at UCLA. Dr. Merchant is certified in both Internal Medicine and Gastroenterology.
Research and Career Highlights
After finishing her training in 1991, Dr. Merchant joined the University of Michigan. She became a professor there. She worked in the Division of Gastroenterology and Molecular and Integrative Physiology. She also taught in the Cellular and Molecular Biology Graduate Program.
From 1994 to 2002, Dr. Merchant was an investigator for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This support helped her research how cells in the digestive system grow and change.
In 2018, Dr. Merchant moved to the University of Arizona College of Medicine. She is now the chief of the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Division there. She is also a professor of medicine and part of the Cancer Biology Research Program.
Understanding Stomach Health
Dr. Merchant's research focuses on stomach cancer. She studies how long-term inflammation in the stomach can lead to cancer. Since 1993, she has received funding for her work on "Transcriptional Control of Gastrin." This project helps understand how certain stomach tumors, called gastrinomas, start.
In 2002, Dr. Merchant and her team made an important discovery. They found that antibiotics were better than acid-blocking medicines for treating stomach inflammation in mice.
She also holds a patent for a special marker. This marker can help doctors diagnose conditions like Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Crohn's Disease.
More recently, she received funding to study how a gene called Sonic hedgehog (SHH) affects stomach cancer. Her research has led to over 100 published papers. She has also edited several books, including a textbook on the Physiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract.
Awards and Honors
Dr. Juanita Merchant has received many awards for her important work:
- 1998 Elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation
- 1998 Robert and Sally Funderburg Award for Gastric Cancer, American Gastroenterological Association
- 2008 Elected to National Academy of Medicine
- 2008-2016 Member of the NIH Council of Councils
- 2008 Outstanding AGA Women in Science Honoree
- 2012 Harold R. Johnson Award for Diversity, University of Michigan
- 2014 AGA Institute Council Section Research Mentor Award in Cellular & Molecular Gastroenterology
- 2014 Sarah Goddard Power Award, University of Michigan
- 2016-2021 Member of the NIDDK Board of Scientific Counselors
- 2017 Distinguished Achievement Award in Basic Science, American Gastroenterological Association
- 2019-2022 Member of National Academy of Medicine Governing Council
