James B. Aguayo-Martel
Encyclopedia
James Benjamin Martel (b. October 15, 1955, in Guadalajara
, Jalisco
) is a physician, surgeon and scientist. He is Chair of Surgery
, Mercy San Juan Medical Center
, Chief of Ophthalmology
, Otolaryngology
(ENT), and Plastic Surgery
, Sutter Roseville Medical Center. Was former director of Ophthalmology, Sutter General and Memorial Hospitals and Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Radiology, Johns Hopkins Medical School and Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute.
; a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School
; a Masters in Public Health in the area of Epidemiology
and Biostatistics
from the Harvard School of Public Health
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ and received his surgical sub-specialty training in Ophthalmology from Johns Hopkins Medical School
and Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/wilmerhttp://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/119/10/1566-a. In the early 1980s, while at Harvard Medical School, Howe Laboratory of Ophthalmology http://www.howelaboratory.harvard.edu/, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
, he was among the first investigators to apply NMR spectroscopy
to study tissue metabolism
non-destructively. The research was able to demonstrate the conversion of glucose
to sorbitol
in the single intact lens which supported the hypothesis
that sorbitol
led tissue damage in diabetes. The condition of diabetes leads to uncontrolled levels of glucose in the body. The ability to monitor glucose and it's metabolism
in by non invasive methodology
in living tissue allows facilitated the understanding of this disease state.
His research on the living lens, was used to understand diabetic cataract
formation. During this time, in collaboration with Dr. Leo Chylack, Jr, he demonstrated the statistical correlation
between diabetes and posterior subcapsular cataracts. For this specific work he was awarded the Soma Weiss Award from Harvard Medical School. Aguayo Martel further probed the association of human behavior
and cataract formation using non-linear regression analysis
.
After finishing his internship at the Beth Israel Hospital
, in Boston, he moved to Baltimore where at Johns Hopkins
Medical Institutions, Dr. Martel led a research team as the Associate Director of NMR Research, which developed Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR
) Microscopy
, a technique for non-invasively obtaining microscopic 3 dimensional images of living objects. The technique first applied to a single living cell
signaled the advent of a new class of instruments which would eventually allow monitoring cellular structures and their biochemistry inside the human body, or to perform "biopsies" without needles or surgery. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v322/n6075/abs/322190a0.html http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Seeing+the+cell+and+letting+it+live.+(nuclear+magnetic+resonance...-a04326669
He applied his MR microscopy to the study of ocular tissues and tumors and used histological correlation to refine his technique.
Dr. Martel was the first to study the biophysical properties of vitreous
using NMR [spectroscopy] and imaging.
After the analysis
of this ocular structure, he extended his research into the area of vitreous hemorrhage
(bleeding into the eye), an area of great importance in loss of sight
. During this time period he explored the use of three dimensional computerized tomography (CT) for the localization and compositional evaluation of intraocular and orbital foreign bodies.
He pioneered the technique of deuterium NMR spectroscopy
to study [metabolism] in [biological systems].
Deuterium
is a non radioactive isotope
of hydrogen and is an abundant atom in metabolites and water was an ideally suited atom to use for NMR spectroscopy. This method allowed for further expansion of the existing NMR spectroscopy techniques in the study of metabolism. This technique extended the capabilities of existing NMR spectroscopy techniques used to investigate tissue metabolism. Dr. Aguayo Martel applied his technique to the understanding of diabetic cataract formation and corneal metabolism in order to create new and improved methods of tissue preservation for improved tissue transplatation. He developed a novel method for monitoring activity in multiple metabolic pathways (hexose monophosphate shunt, glycolysis
, and the polyol pathway
) in the single living lens which allowed insight into the study of diabetic cataractogensis. and applied to corneal tissue transplantation. His work culminated in the development of chemical shift NMR Microscopy, which combined Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy analysis while working at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory http://web.mit.edu/fbml/cmr.shtml, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
. His research team applied the technique to the study of the living lens to study diabetic cataractogenesis. In 1987, Dr. Aguayo Martel was an invited lecturer at the American Physical Society
; the Symposium of the Committee on Applications of Physics: Microtomography-New Three Dimensional Microscopy and presented Grand Rounds at the National Eye Institute
, National Institutes of Health
on “A New Model of Diabetic Cataractogenesis.” The understanding of the metabolism of glucose into sorbitol in the diabteic state has led to the development of a class of medications (aldose reductase inhibitor
) to prevent eye and nerve damage in people with diabetes.
Dr. Martel is also noted for his work in low illumination ophthalmoscopy
and co-inventing the technique of Intraepikeratophakia
a precursor to the technique of LASIK
. Although Dr. Martel is most noted for his pioneering work in the fields of MRI, NMR spectroscopy, ocular metabolism and diabetes; his most accomplished work has been in the area of acute, ocular emergency and ocular trauma to which he has devoted the past twenty years of his career. Dr. Aguayo Martel continues to serve as Director of Ocular Trauma, Chairman of the Surgery Department, Mercy San Juan Medical Center
; Chief of Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology (ENT), and Plastic Surgery, Sutter Roseville Medical Center http://sutterroseville.org/ and manages ocular trauma for Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons http://www.facs.org/ and the American Academy of Ophthalmology http://www.aao.org/.
Guadalajara
Guadalajara may refer to:In Mexico:*Guadalajara, Jalisco, the capital of the state of Jalisco and second largest city in Mexico**Guadalajara Metropolitan Area*University of Guadalajara, a public university in Guadalajara, Jalisco...
, Jalisco
Jalisco
Jalisco officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is located in Western Mexico and divided in 125 municipalities and its capital city is Guadalajara.It is one of the more important states...
) is a physician, surgeon and scientist. He is Chair of Surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
, Mercy San Juan Medical Center
Mercy San Juan Medical Center
Mercy San Juan Medical Center is a major hospital located in Carmichael, California, an unincorporated suburb of Sacramento, California. It is a Level II trauma center. Mercy San Juan began serving the Sacramento area on February 15, 1967. The hospital has 260 beds, 1,670 employees, and 323 active...
, Chief of Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology is the branch of medicine that deals with the anatomy, physiology and diseases of the eye. An ophthalmologist is a specialist in medical and surgical eye problems...
, Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology
Otolaryngology or ENT is the branch of medicine and surgery that specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of ear, nose, throat, and head and neck disorders....
(ENT), and Plastic Surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
, Sutter Roseville Medical Center. Was former director of Ophthalmology, Sutter General and Memorial Hospitals and Assistant Professor of Ophthalmology and Radiology, Johns Hopkins Medical School and Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute.
Career
James B. Martel received a Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
; a Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
; a Masters in Public Health in the area of Epidemiology
Epidemiology
Epidemiology is the study of health-event, health-characteristic, or health-determinant patterns in a population. It is the cornerstone method of public health research, and helps inform policy decisions and evidence-based medicine by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive...
and Biostatistics
Biostatistics
Biostatistics is the application of statistics to a wide range of topics in biology...
from the Harvard School of Public Health
Harvard School of Public Health
The Harvard School of Public Health is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Area of the Boston, Massachusetts neighborhood of Mission Hill, which is next to Harvard Medical School. HSPH is considered a significant school focusing on health in the...
http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/ and received his surgical sub-specialty training in Ophthalmology from Johns Hopkins Medical School
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
and Wilmer Ophthalmological Institute http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/wilmerhttp://archopht.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/119/10/1566-a. In the early 1980s, while at Harvard Medical School, Howe Laboratory of Ophthalmology http://www.howelaboratory.harvard.edu/, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, known locally as Mass. Eye and Ear, is a specialty hospital providing patient care for disorders of the eye, ear, nose, throat, head and neck. Founded in 1824, MEEI is an international leader in Ophthalmology and Otolaryngology research and a teaching partner of...
, he was among the first investigators to apply NMR spectroscopy
NMR spectroscopy
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy, is a research technique that exploits the magnetic properties of certain atomic nuclei to determine physical and chemical properties of atoms or the molecules in which they are contained...
to study tissue metabolism
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
non-destructively. The research was able to demonstrate the conversion of glucose
Glucose
Glucose is a simple sugar and an important carbohydrate in biology. Cells use it as the primary source of energy and a metabolic intermediate...
to sorbitol
Sorbitol
Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, Sorbogem® and Sorbo®, is a sugar alcohol that the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, changing the aldehyde group to a hydroxyl group. Sorbitol is found in apples, pears, peaches, and prunes...
in the single intact lens which supported the hypothesis
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...
that sorbitol
Sorbitol
Sorbitol, also known as glucitol, Sorbogem® and Sorbo®, is a sugar alcohol that the human body metabolizes slowly. It can be obtained by reduction of glucose, changing the aldehyde group to a hydroxyl group. Sorbitol is found in apples, pears, peaches, and prunes...
led tissue damage in diabetes. The condition of diabetes leads to uncontrolled levels of glucose in the body. The ability to monitor glucose and it's metabolism
Metabolism
Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that happen in the cells of living organisms to sustain life. These processes allow organisms to grow and reproduce, maintain their structures, and respond to their environments. Metabolism is usually divided into two categories...
in by non invasive methodology
Methodology
Methodology is generally a guideline for solving a problem, with specificcomponents such as phases, tasks, methods, techniques and tools . It can be defined also as follows:...
in living tissue allows facilitated the understanding of this disease state.
His research on the living lens, was used to understand diabetic cataract
Cataract
A cataract is a clouding that develops in the crystalline lens of the eye or in its envelope, varying in degree from slight to complete opacity and obstructing the passage of light...
formation. During this time, in collaboration with Dr. Leo Chylack, Jr, he demonstrated the statistical correlation
Correlation
In statistics, dependence refers to any statistical relationship between two random variables or two sets of data. Correlation refers to any of a broad class of statistical relationships involving dependence....
between diabetes and posterior subcapsular cataracts. For this specific work he was awarded the Soma Weiss Award from Harvard Medical School. Aguayo Martel further probed the association of human behavior
Human behavior
Human behavior refers to the range of behaviors exhibited by humans and which are influenced by culture, attitudes, emotions, values, ethics, authority, rapport, hypnosis, persuasion, coercion and/or genetics....
and cataract formation using non-linear regression analysis
Regression analysis
In statistics, regression analysis includes many techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables, when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables...
.
After finishing his internship at the Beth Israel Hospital
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts is a major flagship teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. It was formed out of the 1996 merger of Beth Israel Hospital and New England Deaconess Hospital...
, in Boston, he moved to Baltimore where at Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins
Johns Hopkins was a wealthy American entrepreneur, philanthropist and abolitionist of 19th-century Baltimore, Maryland, now most noted for his philanthropic creation of the institutions that bear his name, namely the Johns Hopkins Hospital, and the Johns Hopkins University and its associated...
Medical Institutions, Dr. Martel led a research team as the Associate Director of NMR Research, which developed Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR
NMR
NMR may refer to:Applications of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance:* Nuclear magnetic resonance* NMR spectroscopy* Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance* Protein nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy* Proton NMR* Carbon-13 NMR...
) Microscopy
Microscopy
Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view samples and objects that cannot be seen with the unaided eye...
, a technique for non-invasively obtaining microscopic 3 dimensional images of living objects. The technique first applied to a single living cell
Cell (biology)
The cell is the basic structural and functional unit of all known living organisms. It is the smallest unit of life that is classified as a living thing, and is often called the building block of life. The Alberts text discusses how the "cellular building blocks" move to shape developing embryos....
signaled the advent of a new class of instruments which would eventually allow monitoring cellular structures and their biochemistry inside the human body, or to perform "biopsies" without needles or surgery. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v322/n6075/abs/322190a0.html http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Seeing+the+cell+and+letting+it+live.+(nuclear+magnetic+resonance...-a04326669
He applied his MR microscopy to the study of ocular tissues and tumors and used histological correlation to refine his technique.
Dr. Martel was the first to study the biophysical properties of vitreous
Vitreous humour
The vitreous humour or vitreous humor is the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina of the eyeball of humans and other vertebrates...
using NMR [spectroscopy] and imaging.
After the analysis
Analysis
Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle , though analysis as a formal concept is a relatively recent development.The word is...
of this ocular structure, he extended his research into the area of vitreous hemorrhage
Vitreous Hemorrhage
Vitreous Hemorrhage is the extravasation of blood into the areas in and around the vitreous humor of the eye. The vitreous humor is the clear gel that fills the space between the lens and the retina of the eye...
(bleeding into the eye), an area of great importance in loss of sight
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
. During this time period he explored the use of three dimensional computerized tomography (CT) for the localization and compositional evaluation of intraocular and orbital foreign bodies.
He pioneered the technique of deuterium NMR spectroscopy
NMR spectroscopy
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy, is a research technique that exploits the magnetic properties of certain atomic nuclei to determine physical and chemical properties of atoms or the molecules in which they are contained...
to study [metabolism] in [biological systems].
Deuterium
Deuterium
Deuterium, also called heavy hydrogen, is one of two stable isotopes of hydrogen. It has a natural abundance in Earth's oceans of about one atom in of hydrogen . Deuterium accounts for approximately 0.0156% of all naturally occurring hydrogen in Earth's oceans, while the most common isotope ...
is a non radioactive isotope
Radionuclide
A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy available to be imparted either to a newly created radiation particle within the nucleus or to an atomic electron. The radionuclide, in this process, undergoes radioactive decay, and emits gamma...
of hydrogen and is an abundant atom in metabolites and water was an ideally suited atom to use for NMR spectroscopy. This method allowed for further expansion of the existing NMR spectroscopy techniques in the study of metabolism. This technique extended the capabilities of existing NMR spectroscopy techniques used to investigate tissue metabolism. Dr. Aguayo Martel applied his technique to the understanding of diabetic cataract formation and corneal metabolism in order to create new and improved methods of tissue preservation for improved tissue transplatation. He developed a novel method for monitoring activity in multiple metabolic pathways (hexose monophosphate shunt, glycolysis
Glycolysis
Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose C6H12O6, into pyruvate, CH3COCOO− + H+...
, and the polyol pathway
Polyol pathway
Also called the sorbitol-aldose reductase pathway, the polyol pathway appears to be implicated in diabetic complications, especially in microvascular damage to the retina, kidney, and nerves....
) in the single living lens which allowed insight into the study of diabetic cataractogensis. and applied to corneal tissue transplantation. His work culminated in the development of chemical shift NMR Microscopy, which combined Magnetic Resonance imaging (MRI) and spectroscopy analysis while working at the Francis Bitter National Magnet Laboratory http://web.mit.edu/fbml/cmr.shtml, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
. His research team applied the technique to the study of the living lens to study diabetic cataractogenesis. In 1987, Dr. Aguayo Martel was an invited lecturer at the American Physical Society
American Physical Society
The American Physical Society is the world's second largest organization of physicists, behind the Deutsche Physikalische Gesellschaft. The Society publishes more than a dozen scientific journals, including the world renowned Physical Review and Physical Review Letters, and organizes more than 20...
; the Symposium of the Committee on Applications of Physics: Microtomography-New Three Dimensional Microscopy and presented Grand Rounds at the National Eye Institute
National Eye Institute
The National Eye Institute is one of the US National Institutes of Health that was established in 1968. The mission of NEI is to prolong and protect the vision of the American people. The NEI conducts and performs research into treating and preventing diseases affecting the eye or vision....
, National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
on “A New Model of Diabetic Cataractogenesis.” The understanding of the metabolism of glucose into sorbitol in the diabteic state has led to the development of a class of medications (aldose reductase inhibitor
Aldose reductase inhibitor
Aldose reductase inhibitors are a class of drugs being studied as a way to prevent eye and nerve damage in people with diabetes.-Mechanism:Their target, aldose reductase, is an enzyme that is normally present in many other parts of the body, and catalyzes one of the steps in the sorbitol pathway...
) to prevent eye and nerve damage in people with diabetes.
Dr. Martel is also noted for his work in low illumination ophthalmoscopy
Ophthalmoscopy
Ophthalmoscopy is a test that allows a health professional to see inside the fundus of the eye and other structures using an ophthalmoscope . It is done as part of an eye examination and may be done as part of a routine physical examination...
and co-inventing the technique of Intraepikeratophakia
a precursor to the technique of LASIK
LASIK
LASIK or Lasik , commonly referred to simply as laser eye surgery, is a type of refractive surgery for correcting myopia, hyperopia, and astigmatism...
. Although Dr. Martel is most noted for his pioneering work in the fields of MRI, NMR spectroscopy, ocular metabolism and diabetes; his most accomplished work has been in the area of acute, ocular emergency and ocular trauma to which he has devoted the past twenty years of his career. Dr. Aguayo Martel continues to serve as Director of Ocular Trauma, Chairman of the Surgery Department, Mercy San Juan Medical Center
Mercy San Juan Medical Center
Mercy San Juan Medical Center is a major hospital located in Carmichael, California, an unincorporated suburb of Sacramento, California. It is a Level II trauma center. Mercy San Juan began serving the Sacramento area on February 15, 1967. The hospital has 260 beds, 1,670 employees, and 323 active...
; Chief of Ophthalmology, Otolaryngology (ENT), and Plastic Surgery, Sutter Roseville Medical Center http://sutterroseville.org/ and manages ocular trauma for Sutter Health Sacramento Sierra Region. He is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons http://www.facs.org/ and the American Academy of Ophthalmology http://www.aao.org/.
External links
- Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of a single cell URL last accessed 2008-08-16.
- Nuclear magnetic resonance studies of sugar cataractogenesis in the single intact rabbit lens URL last accessed 2008-08-16.
- Seeing the cell and letting it live