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"Work in Progress" Newsletter Curiosity Sparked Dr. Uthoff's
A graduate of the prestigious Medical University of Luebeck in Luebeck, Germany -- the third largest medical school in Europe -- Dr. Uthoff became involved in cancer research at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Boston. "I applied for a fellowship at the University of Louisville's Section of Colon & Rectal Surgery because of its reputation," she said. In October 2000, Dr. Uthoff presented her findings about IBD2 -- a potential marker for inflammatory bowel disease located on chromosome 12 -- at the annual meeting of the American Society for Human Genetics in Philadelphia. Results from her research show that one marker near IBD2 is more common in Crohn's disease patients who are Jewish (83%) or African-American (50%) as compared to the Caucasian population (21%). This may mean that Jews and African-Americans with this specific genotype or genetic makeup may be more susceptible to developing Crohn's disease than non-Jewish Caucasians with the same genotype. "Studies with larger numbers of patients, as well as studies in which a patient's genes are compared to that of family members, will greatly improve the reliability of our results. We would like to narrow down the region of interest within the IBD2 area so that we will be able to pinpoint genes within this location, which might cause these diseases," Dr. Uthoff commented. When she is not searching for genes, Dr. Uthoff satisfies her passion for music by playing the piano, cello, and singing in her church choir. She also enjoys swimming for recreation. "I grew up by the sea, which was literally in my backyard." |
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Sonja Uthoff, M.D., explained that her curiosity for medicine peaked at a young age when she had the opportunity to observe an operation. This sparked a career interest in surgery that has taken her across the globe from her native northern Germany to the United States.