Wikipedia

Constance Tom Noguchi

Constance Tom Noguchi (born December 8, 1948) is a research physicist, Chief of the Molecular Cell Biology Section, and Dean of the Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) Graduate School at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Noguchi studies the underlying genetics, metabolism, and treatment of sickle cell disease and of erythropoietin and its effects on metabolism.[1][2]

Constance Tom Noguchi
Noguchi at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases circa 2019
Born
Constance Tom

(1948-12-08) December 8, 1948 (age 75)
Guangzhou, China
EducationUniversity of California, Berkeley, George Washington University
PartnerPhilip David Noguchi
Scientific career
InstitutionsNational Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK)

Noguchi has published over 250 scientific articles with over 9491 citations.[3] Noguchi is one of 21 Asian Americans profiled in Asian American Biographies (1994) for their contributions to the arts, politics, and science.[4] She is the subject of Scientist and puzzle solver, Constance Tom Noguchi (1985).[5]

Early life and education

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Constance Tom was born on December 8, 1948, in Guangzhou (Canton, China) to James Tom and Irene Cheung. Her father was a Chinese-American, and the family soon returned to the United States.[6] Constance Tom grew up in San Francisco, California and married Philip David Noguchi in 1969.[7][8]

Noguchi studied in mathematics and physics at the University of California, Berkeley, receiving her B.Sc. in 1970. She then attended George Washington University where she received her PhD in theoretical nuclear physics in 1975.[4]

Career

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Noguchi joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1975, as a fellow with Alan N. Schechter at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). Noguchi became a research physicist at NIDDK in 1985.[4] She became Chief of the Molecular Cell Biology Section of NIDDK in 1994, and Dean of the NIH's Foundation for Advanced Education in the Sciences (FAES) in 1999.[2][9]

Noguchi studies the underlying genetics, metabolism, and treatment of sickle cell disease, in particular sickle hemoglobin polymerization.[10][11] Noguchi has developed methods to measure the severity of sickle cell disease, a disease that affects newborns. By measuring oxygen saturation, total hemoglobin concentration, and hemoglobin composition, she calculates the polymer content of sickle cells. Polymer content can be used to choose treatments and assess their effectiveness.[4] Noguchi has studied hydroxyurea and hemoglobin, showing that hydroxyurea can increase a form of fetal hemoglobin in sickle cell disease.[12][13] Noguchi has also shown that polymer formation correlates with mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and will vary from patient to patient.[14]

In 1991, Noguchi isolated and cloned the human erythropoietin receptor gene.[15][16] Erythropoietin is an essential hormone for red blood cell production that is produced by the kidneys and binds to the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR).[17] When a person's erythrocyte count is higher than the normal range for their sex, the disease state erythrocytosis can occur. Erythrocytosis has been linked to a variety of EpoR gene mutations.[18]

Erythropoietin regulation is involved in metabolism in a number of ways, including oxygen delivery, maintenance of white adipose tissue, and the maintenance of metabolic homeostasis.[17]

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ Livingston, Ivor Lensworth (1994). Handbook of Black American Health: The Mosaic of Conditions, Issues, Policies, and Prospects. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-28640-7. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Constance Tom Noguchi, Ph.D." National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Constance Tom Noguchi's research". ResearchGate. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d Sampson, Mark T. (January 4, 1994). "Biography of NIDDK Scientist Appears in Book" (PDF). The NIH Record. XLVI (1): 1, 7. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  5. ^ Verheyden-Hilliard, Mary Ellen (1985). Scientist and puzzle solver, Constance Tom Noguchi. Bethesda, Md.: Equity Institute. ISBN 9780932469052.
  6. ^ Yount, Lisa (2007). A to Z of Women in Science and Math. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0795-0. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  7. ^ Fort, Deborah C. (1995). A Hand Up: Women Mentoring Women in Science. Association for Women in Science. pp. 88–91. ISBN 978-0-9634590-6-0.
  8. ^ "Irene Tom Obituary". San Francisco Chronicle. August 1, 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  9. ^ "FAES: NEW TERM, (RELATIVELY) NEW DEAN, NEW COURSES, AND A SEARCH FOR NEW TEACHERS AMONG NIH FELLOWS". The NIH Catalyst. 8 (4). 2000. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
  10. ^ Weatherall, David J.; Clegg, J. B. (30 April 2008). The Thalassaemia Syndromes. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 109–111. ISBN 978-0-470-69594-4. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  11. ^ Noguchi, C T; Schechter, A N (1 June 1985). "Sickle Hemoglobin Polymerization in Solution and in Cells". Annual Review of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry. 14 (1): 239–263. doi:10.1146/annurev.bb.14.060185.001323. ISSN 0883-9182. PMID 3890882. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  12. ^ Oakes, Elizabeth H. (2007). Encyclopedia of World Scientists. Infobase Publishing. pp. 547–548. ISBN 978-1-4381-1882-6. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  13. ^ Cokic, Vladan P.; Smith, Reginald D.; Beleslin-Cokic, Bojana B.; Njoroge, Joyce M.; Miller, Jeffery L.; Gladwin, Mark T.; Schechter, Alan N. (15 January 2003). "Hydroxyurea induces fetal hemoglobin by the nitric oxide–dependent activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 111 (2): 231–239. doi:10.1172/JCI16672. PMC 151872. PMID 12531879.
  14. ^ Nagel, Ronald L. (13 June 2019). Genetically Abnormal Red Cells: Volume 1. CRC Press. ISBN 978-0-429-55901-3. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  15. ^ Allouche, Sylvie; Gayon, Jean; Marzano, Michela; Goffette, Jérôme (1 September 2015). Inquiring into Human Enhancement: Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives. Springer. ISBN 978-1-137-53007-3. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  16. ^ Noguchi, CT; Bae, KS; Chin, K; Wada, Y; Schechter, AN; Hankins, WD (15 November 1991). "Cloning of the human erythropoietin receptor gene". Blood. 78 (10): 2548–2556. doi:10.1182/blood.V78.10.2548.2548. ISSN 0006-4971. PMID 1668606.
  17. ^ a b Suresh, Sukanya; Rajvanshi, Praveen Kumar; Noguchi, Constance T. (2020). "The Many Facets of Erythropoietin Physiologic and Metabolic Response". Frontiers in Physiology. 10: 1534. doi:10.3389/fphys.2019.01534. ISSN 1664-042X. PMC 6984352. PMID 32038269.
  18. ^ Mallik, Nabhajit; Das, Reena; Malhotra, Pankaj; Sharma, Prashant (July 2021). "Congenital erythrocytosis". European Journal of Haematology. 107 (1): 29–37. doi:10.1111/ejh.13632. ISSN 0902-4441. PMID 33840141. S2CID 233211694.
  19. ^ "APIAAC Honors Four NIH'ers" (PDF). The NIH Record. XLVII (9): 4. April 25, 1995. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  20. ^ "Noguchi, Schwartz Win Mentoring Awards" (PDF). The NIH Record: 12. May 5, 2001. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
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