Juanita L. Merchant, M.D., Ph.D.

Juanita L. Merchant, M.D., Ph.D.

2022 Regents Professor
Professor and Chief of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Medicine
College of Medicine - Tucson
Juanita Merchant

A leader in research on the stomach, Merchant is among the most accomplished and celebrated faculty members in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson. She joined the university in 2018 as a professor and chief of gastroenterology and hepatology. She has since added the titles of professor of physiological sciences and interim associate director of basic science for the University of Arizona Cancer Center.

Her research program has been supported for more than 25 years by competitively awarded grants from numerous sources, primarily the National Institutes of Health. In addition to her work as a physician-scientist, Merchant is a celebrated teacher and mentor. She has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, the Council of the National Academy of Medicine and the Association of American Physicians. In 2016, she also joined the Board of Scientific Counselors for the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, a unit of the NIH.

Merchant has also received the Funderburg Research Award in Gastric Cancer – a top honor in her specialty – as well as the Distinguished Achievement Award in Basic Science and the Distinguished Mentor Award from the American Gastroenterological Association.