Constance Tom Noguchi was born December 8, 1948, in San Francisco. Noguchi
developed an interest in biology and physics during high school. She received a
B.A. in math and physics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1970,
and a Ph.D. in nuclear physics from George Washington University, Washington,
DC, in 1975.
Noguchi planned on a career in medicine, but was drawn to physics. After
graduation, she received a grant from NIH to do research in the biomedical area
and she received training in biology. Her research used a biological perspective
and she studied protein chemistry and molecular biology. Her current research
involves sickle cell anemia.
Noguchi enjoys many aspects of her work and has benefited from the diversity
of her education. During an interview for the Association of Women in Science,
she said:
One of the best jobs possible is to be able to do what you enjoy and get
paid for it. In research, I have the opportunity to solve problems, to make
scientific discoveries, and to share them with colleagues and students in the
process. Some solutions can be found using tools ranging from sophisticated
electronic equipment and high speed computers to string and wax or pencil and
paper. The key is to be able to use your imagination and whatever else is
available.
With the continuing changes in the job market and career opportunities, it
is important to approach your education as would a wise consumer any product.
Explore your options. If you stay focused in a particular area, you will have
an easier job of establishing yourself in that one field. The exposure that
you experience during your training can always be used to your advantage.
Dr. Noguchi is currently the Molecular Cell Biology Section Chief at the
Laboratory of Chemical Biology, National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive
& Kidney Diseases, National Institutes of Health in Bethesda. According to
the published research statement, the focus of the section's work is:
The role of cytokines in maintaining stem/progenitor cell characteristics
is being investigated. Molecular structure and processing related to cellular
function, differentiation, and development are studied using molecular and
cell biology, biochemical, and biophysical approaches. Emphasis is on
transcriptional regulation and models of proliferation and differentiation
including stem cell marking studies and transplantation with particular
interest in the function of the erythropoietin receptor and stress response in
hematopoietic, neuronal, muscle, endothelial and other stem/progenitor cells.
Other studies include differential globin gene expression related to the
pathophysiology of sickle cell disease and other hemoglobinopathies.
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Constance Tom Noguchi - Researcher and Mentor in
Biographies of Scientists is owned by
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