Minnie Mariam Mathan (née Thomas, born 1937) is a

pathologist Pathology is the study of disease. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatme ...

, a pioneer in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

gastrointestinal The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascular system. ...

ultrastructure Ultrastructure (or ultra-structure) is the architecture of cells and biomaterials that is visible at higher magnifications than found on a standard optical light microscope. This traditionally meant the resolution and magnification range of a c ...

research and medical administrator. She pioneered studies in the

pathogenesis In pathology, pathogenesis is the process by which a disease or disorder develops. It can include factors which contribute not only to the onset of the disease or disorder, but also to its progression and maintenance. The word comes . Descript ...

of intestinal

lesions A lesion is any damage or abnormal change in the tissue of an organism, usually caused by injury or diseases. The term ''Lesion'' is derived from the Latin meaning "injury". Lesions may occur in both plants and animals. Types There is no de ...

tropical sprue Tropical sprue is a malabsorption disease commonly found in tropical regions, marked with abnormal flattening of the villi and inflammation of the lining of the small intestine. It differs significantly from coeliac sprue. It appears to be a mor ...

and of the

rotavirus Rotaviruses are the most common cause of diarrhea, diarrhoeal disease among infants and young children. Nearly every child in the world is infected with a rotavirus at least once by the age of five. Immunity (medical), Immunity develops with ...

as an important cause of acute

diarrhea Diarrhea (American English), also spelled diarrhoea or diarrhœa (British English), is the condition of having at least three loose, liquid, or watery bowel movements in a day. It often lasts for a few days and can result in dehydration d ...

in Indian children.

Early life

Mathan was inspired to study medicine and follow her father, a doctor, into surgery.

Academics

Mathan studied in the Christian Medical College (CMC), Vellore and obtained an MBBS degree from the

University of Madras The University of Madras is a public university, public State university (India), state university in Chennai (Madras), Tamil Nadu, India. Established in 1857, it is one of the oldest and most prominent universities in India, incorporated by an ...

. She had hoped to train further in surgery at the college, but her teachers dissuaded her. She instead switched to pathology work in the laboratory, while pursuing her post-graduate and doctoral degrees from Madras University. She obtained her

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in 1983. The relatively new

electron microscope An electron microscope is a microscope that uses a beam of electrons as a source of illumination. It uses electron optics that are analogous to the glass lenses of an optical light microscope to control the electron beam, for instance focusing it ...

, with its exponentially larger magnification capabilities compared to

light microscopy Microscopy is the technical field of using microscopes to view subjects too small to be seen with the naked eye (objects that are not within the resolution range of the normal eye). There are three well-known branches of microscopy: optical, el ...

, had a profound impact on biological research. Access to the instrument in 1967 at CMC led Mathan to focus on ultrastructural pathology, a new field of research in India at the time. She worked on the

gastrointestinal tract The gastrointestinal tract (GI tract, digestive tract, alimentary canal) is the tract or passageway of the Digestion, digestive system that leads from the mouth to the anus. The tract is the largest of the body's systems, after the cardiovascula ...

and the relationships between the structures and functions in it. In 1970, Mathan moved to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

to study with Professor Jerry Trier. She was the only woman among the 24 fellows in his department. She presented a paper at the

American Gastroenterological Association The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) is a medical association of gastroenterologists. Approximately 16,000 scientists and physicians are members of the organization. Overview The American Gastroenterological Association is a prof ...

's plenary session in 1971, the only female presenter that year.

Career

In 1971, Mathan returned to CMC Vellore and continued her research. She trained in campus at the

Wellcome Trust The Wellcome Trust is a charitable foundation focused on health research based in London, United Kingdom. It was established in 1936 with legacies from the pharmaceutical magnate Henry Wellcome (founder of Burroughs Wellcome, one of the predec ...

Research Laboratory between 1977 and 1983. She became professor of pathology, and then the head of department of Gastrointestinal Sciences in 1993 and retired from that position in 1997. She was elected Fellow of the

Indian National Science Academy The Indian National Science Academy (INSA) is a national academy in New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three b ...

in 1999 and elevated to Senior Scientist in 2005. She was granted CMC's first research chair in 1981. Her husband Professor Vadakenadayil Ittyerah Mathan is also an accomplished gastroenterologist and academician.

Accomplishments

Mathan's ultrastructure gastrointestinal studies, combined with her use of

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

organ

cultures Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

and

immunological Immunology is a branch of biology and medicine that covers the study of immune systems in all organisms. Immunology charts, measures, and contextualizes the physiological functioning of the immune system in states of both health and disease ...

studies, resulted in an explanation for development of intestinal lesions in tropical sprue. The paper she published on the subject in the medical journal, Gastroenterology, went on to be adjudged the best biomedical sciences paper from India between 1972 and 1976. The rotavirus was discovered in 1973. In 1975, the electron microscopist Ian Holmes who was visiting India, taught Mathan how to recognize the virus. Mathan's research on the subject led to identifying it as a major cause of acute diarrhea among children in India. She was appointed to the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

's Steering Group on viral diarrhea, contributing to its bulletin on Rotavirus and other viral diarrheas in 1980. Mathan collaborated with clinicians to prove that

endotoxin Lipopolysaccharide (LPS), now more commonly known as endotoxin, is a collective term for components of the outermost membrane of the cell envelope of gram-negative bacteria, such as '' E. coli'' and ''Salmonella'' with a common structural archit ...

-induced

vascular Vascular can refer to: * blood vessels, the vascular system in animals * vascular tissue Vascular tissue is a complex transporting tissue, formed of more than one cell type, found in vascular plants. The primary components of vascular tissue ...

lesion in the intestinal

lamina propria The lamina propria is a thin layer of connective tissue that forms part of the moist linings known as mucous membranes or mucosae, which line various tubes in the body, such as the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, and the urogenital ...

determines how severe acute diarrhea, including

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

, can be for a patient. Mathan was a consultant at the International Center for Diarrhoeal Disease Research,

Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

, consultant in electronmicroscopy to the

Indian Council of Medical Research The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research, is one of the oldest and largest medical research bodies in the world. The ICMR is funded by the Gove ...

and an INSA Senior Scientist.

Awards

Source: *Hoechst Om Prakash Award (1977) *

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

Gastroenterology Award (1988) *Fellow,

National Academy of Medical Sciences National Academy of Medical Sciences (India), better known by its acronym, NAMS, is a non-constitutional, non-statutory advisory body to the Government in matters related to National Health Policy and Planning and as a promoting agency for contin ...

(1993) *Founder Fellow of the Indian College of Pathologists (1993) *Kshanica Oration Award by ICMR (1995) *Amruth Mody Unichem Prize (1996) *

Parke-Davis Parke-Davis is a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Although Parke, Davis & Co. is no longer an independent corporation, it was once America's oldest and largest drug maker, and played an important role in medical history. In 1970 ...

Oration Award by Indian Society of Gastroenterology (1996) *

Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) is a professional membership organisation. Its main function is the overseeing of postgraduate training, and its Fellowship Examination (FRCPath) is recognised as the standard assessment of fitness to p ...

, UK (1996) *Basanthi Devi Amirchand Award (1997) *

Ranbaxy Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited was an Indian multinational pharmaceutical company that was incorporated in India in 1961 and remained an entity until 2014. The company went public in 1973. Ownership of Ranbaxy changed twice over the course of its ...

Science Foundation Award (1997)

Publications

Select Journal Articles

*P P Maiya, S M Pereira, M M Mathan, P Bhat, M J Albert, S J Baker (1977). ''Aetiology of acute gastroenteritis in infancy and early childhood in southern India''. Archives of Disease in Childhood 52: 482–5. *C K Paniker, S Mathew, R Dharmarajan, M M Mathan, V I Mathan (1977). ''Epidemic gastroenteritis in children associated with rotavirus infection''. Indian Journal of Medical Research 66:525-9. *M M Mathan, V I Mathan (1991). ''Morphology of Rectal Mucosa of Patients with Shigellosis''. Clinical Infectious Diseases 13. doi: 10.1093/CLINIDS/13.SUPPLEMENT 4.S314. *S Shah, V Thomas, M M Mathan, A Chacko, G Chandy, B S Ramakrishna, D K Rolston (1992). ''Colonoscopic study of 50 patients with colonic tuberculosis''. Gut 33(3): 347–351. doi: 10.1136/GUT.33.3.347. *G Kang, M Mathew, D P Rajan, J D Daniel, M M Mathan, V I Mathan, J P Muliyil (1998). ''Prevalence of intestinal parasites in rural Southern Indians''. Tropical Medicine & International Health 3(1):70-75. doi: 10.1046/J.1365-3156.1998.00175.X. *A B Pulimood, B S Ramakrishna, G Kurian, S Peter, S Patra, V I Mathan, M M Mathan (1999). ''Endoscopic mucosal biopsies are useful in distinguishing granulomatous colitis due to Crohn's disease from tuberculosis''. Gut 45(4):537-541. doi: 10.1136/GUT.45.4.537. *M S Ahmad, S Krishnan, B S Ramakrishna, M M Mathan, A B Pulimood, S Murthy (2000). ''Butyrate and glucose metabolism by colonocytes in experimental colitis in mice''. Gut 46(4): 493–499. doi: 10.1136/GUT.46.4.493.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathan, Minnie Mariam 1937 births Living people Women pathologists 20th-century Indian scientists Indian pathologists 20th-century Indian women scientists Scientists from Tamil Nadu University of Madras alumni