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62 years of gastrointestinal research: 1951–2013
Author(s) -
Guth Paul H
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of gastroenterology and hepatology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.214
H-Index - 130
eISSN - 1440-1746
pISSN - 0815-9319
DOI - 10.1111/jgh.12757
Subject(s) - grossman , medicine , gerontology , economics , keynesian economics
In 1951, I began a 2‐year postdoctoral research fellowship under Dr S imon K omarov at T emple U niversity. Later, as a staff gastroenterologist at the O range C ounty G eneral H ospital in C alifornia, I was interested in the possible role of blood flow alterations in peptic ulcer disease. We adapted S ilvio B aez's just described in vivo microscopy technique to study blood flow in the gastric microcirculation in the anesthetized cat. In 1969, I joined the G astroenterology S ervice at the W est L os A ngeles V eterans A dministration (VA), primarily because of the presence there of Dr M orton G rossman, one of the leading researchers in gastrointestinal physiology. The most important lesson I learned from Dr G rossman was the importance of openness—investigators sharing their ideas, thoughts, and findings. Dr H arold W ayland, P rofessor, C alifornia I nstitute of T echnology, helped me in setting up my laboratory at the VA and arranged with his friend Dr M asaharu T suchiya, Chair of Gastroenterology at K eio U niversity, Tokyo, Japan, for a collaborative effort with fellows from K eio coming for 2‐year fellowships with us (under my grant). H arold introduced us to the fluorescein‐labeled albumen technique for the study of microvascular permeability. Later, Dr J onathon K aunitz, a colleague at the VA , and K otaro K aneko, my K eio U niversity fellow, succeeded in modifying this technique to measure pHi in surface gastric cells in vivo . When I retired in 1993, Dr K aunitz took charge of my laboratory. He and his associate Dr A kiba have completed extensive studies comparing and contrasting how stomach and duodenal surface cells defend themselves against acid loads. In the course of this work, they have become deeply involved in cell signaling and intracellular pathways when nutrients enter the duodenum. They have developed a technique for using confocal microscopy in vivo in this work. Dr G rossman was right: when investigators share their ideas, everyone benefits and science advances.