Constance Tom Noguchi

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.{{cite book |last1=Yount |first1=Lisa |title=A to Z of Women in Science and Math |date=2007 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-0795-0 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=428i2UdWRRAC&pg=PA222 |access-date=26 May 2022 |language=en}} Constance Tom grew up in San Francisco, California and married Philip David Noguchi in 1969.{{cite book |last1=Fort |first1=Deborah C. |title=A Hand Up: Women Mentoring Women in Science |date=1995 |publisher=Association for Women in Science |isbn=978-0-9634590-6-0 |pages=88–91 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=79wPAQAAMAAJ&q=Constance+Tom+Noguchi |language=en}}{{cite web |title=Irene Tom Obituary |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sfgate/name/irene-tom-obituary?id=10068458 |date=August 1, 2013 |website=San Francisco Chronicle |access-date=28 May 2022}}

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.

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.{{cite journal |last1=Sampson |first1=Mark T. |title=Biography of NIDDK Scientist Appears in Book |journal=The NIH Record |date=January 4, 1994 |volume=XLVI |issue=1 |pages=1, 7 |url=https://nihrecord.nih.gov/sites/recordNIH/files/pdf/1994/NIH-Record-1994-01-04.pdf |access-date=26 May 2022}}

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.{{cite journal |title=FAES: NEW TERM, (RELATIVELY) NEW DEAN, NEW COURSES, AND A SEARCH FOR NEW TEACHERS AMONG NIH FELLOWS |journal=The NIH Catalyst |date=2000 |volume=8 |issue=4 |url=https://nihsearch.cit.nih.gov/catalyst/2000/00.07.01/page3.html |access-date=28 May 2022 |language=en}}

Noguchi studies the underlying genetics, metabolism, and treatment of sickle cell disease, in particular sickle hemoglobin polymerization.{{cite book |last1=Weatherall |first1=David J. |last2=Clegg |first2=J. B. |title=The Thalassaemia Syndromes |date=30 April 2008 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-0-470-69594-4 |pages=109–111 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jao0z6R4R5gC&pg=PA109 |access-date=26 May 2022 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Noguchi |first1=C T |last2=Schechter |first2=A N |title=Sickle Hemoglobin Polymerization in Solution and in Cells |journal=Annual Review of Biophysics and Biophysical Chemistry |date=1 June 1985 |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=239–263 |doi=10.1146/annurev.bb.14.060185.001323 |pmid=3890882 |url=https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.bb.14.060185.001323 |access-date=26 May 2022 |issn=0883-9182|url-access=subscription }}

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.

Noguchi has studied hydroxyurea and hemoglobin, showing that hydroxyurea can increase a form of fetal hemoglobin in sickle cell disease.{{cite book |last1=Oakes |first1=Elizabeth H. |title=Encyclopedia of World Scientists |date=2007 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-1882-6 |pages=547–548 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uPRB-OED1bcC&pg=PA547 |access-date=26 May 2022 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Cokic |first1=Vladan P. |last2=Smith |first2=Reginald D. |last3=Beleslin-Cokic |first3=Bojana B. |last4=Njoroge |first4=Joyce M. |last5=Miller |first5=Jeffery L. |last6=Gladwin |first6=Mark T. |last7=Schechter |first7=Alan N. |title=Hydroxyurea induces fetal hemoglobin by the nitric oxide–dependent activation of soluble guanylyl cyclase |journal=Journal of Clinical Investigation |date=15 January 2003 |volume=111 |issue=2 |pages=231–239 |doi=10.1172/JCI16672 |pmid=12531879 |pmc=151872 }}

Noguchi has also shown that polymer formation correlates with mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), and will vary from patient to patient.{{cite book |last1=Nagel |first1=Ronald L. |title=Genetically Abnormal Red Cells: Volume 1 |date=13 June 2019 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-429-55901-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FHGdDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT51 |access-date=26 May 2022 |language=en}}

In 1991, Noguchi isolated and cloned the human erythropoietin receptor gene.{{cite book |last1=Allouche |first1=Sylvie |last2=Gayon |first2=Jean |last3=Marzano |first3=Michela |last4=Goffette |first4=Jérôme |title=Inquiring into Human Enhancement: Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives |date=1 September 2015 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-53007-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bsOhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PT131 |access-date=26 May 2022 |language=en}}{{cite journal |last1=Noguchi |first1=CT |last2=Bae |first2=KS |last3=Chin |first3=K |last4=Wada |first4=Y |last5=Schechter |first5=AN |last6=Hankins |first6=WD |title=Cloning of the human erythropoietin receptor gene |journal=Blood |date=15 November 1991 |volume=78 |issue=10 |pages=2548–2556 |doi=10.1182/blood.V78.10.2548.2548 |pmid=1668606 |language=en |issn=0006-4971|doi-access=free }}

Erythropoietin is an essential hormone for red blood cell production that is produced by the kidneys and binds to the erythropoietin receptor (EpoR).{{cite journal |last1=Suresh |first1=Sukanya |last2=Rajvanshi |first2=Praveen Kumar |last3=Noguchi |first3=Constance T. |title=The Many Facets of Erythropoietin Physiologic and Metabolic Response |journal=Frontiers in Physiology |date=2020 |volume=10 |page=1534 |doi=10.3389/fphys.2019.01534 |pmid=32038269 |pmc=6984352 |issn=1664-042X|doi-access=free }} 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.{{cite journal |last1=Mallik |first1=Nabhajit |last2=Das |first2=Reena |last3=Malhotra |first3=Pankaj |last4=Sharma |first4=Prashant |title=Congenital erythrocytosis |journal=European Journal of Haematology |date=July 2021 |volume=107 |issue=1 |pages=29–37 |doi=10.1111/ejh.13632 |pmid=33840141 |s2cid=233211694 |language=en |issn=0902-4441|doi-access=free }}

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.

• 1995, APIAAC outstanding achievement award, National Institutes of Health{{cite journal |title=APIAAC Honors Four NIH'ers |journal=The NIH Record |date=April 25, 1995 |volume=XLVII |issue=9 |page=4 |url=https://nihrecord.nih.gov/sites/recordNIH/files/pdf/1995/NIH-Record-1995-04-25.pdf |access-date=26 May 2022}}
• 2001, Mentoring Award, Association for Women in Science, Bethesda{{cite journal |title=Noguchi, Schwartz Win Mentoring Awards |journal=The NIH Record |date=May 5, 2001 |volume= |issue= |page=12 |url=https://nihrecord.nih.gov/sites/recordNIH/files/pdf/2001/NIH-Record-2001-05-29.pdf |access-date=26 May 2022}}

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Category:Living people

Category:People from Guangzhou

Category:Women biologists

Category:University of California, Berkeley alumni

Category:George Washington University alumni

Category:Molecular biologists

Category:1948 births

Category:National Institutes of Health people

Category:21st-century American physicists