Juan B. Ochoa MD, FACS

Dr. Juan Ochoa, A native of Colombia, came to the US to pursue his interests in basic research and was the first to demonstrate that excessive nitric oxide production in humans could explain the hemodynamic instability of sepsis. He began a residency position at the general surgery program at the University of Pittsburgh in 1991.

In 1996 Dr. Ochoa completed his training and a fellowship in Multidisciplinary Critical Care and decided to take the challenge of becoming an assistant professor of surgery at the University of Kentucky where he continued his independent research on nitric oxide production in trauma and surgery patients. In 2001, Dr. Ochoa was invited back to the University of Pittsburgh where he continued his clinical practice as Professor of Surgery and Critical Care and rose through the ranks to become associate director for trauma services at UPMC. While sustaining an actively clinical practice he continued to maintain NIH-funded research in the area of arginine metabolism during critical illness.

Dr. Ochoa has published over 100 manuscripts including chapters and peer-reviewed articles in prestigious journals. In 2008 he was interviewed by Ms. Jean Marx in SCIENCE (the journal) with regards to the discovery of arginine destruction by myeloid cells. His work has been essential at defining arginine deficiency as a cause of immune dysfunction in several illnesses including surgery, trauma and certain cancers.

In 2010, Dr. Ochoa accepted the offer of becoming the Medical and Scientific Director for Nestle Health Care Nutrition USA. In his new role, Dr. Ochoa has focused a large amount of work at providing education and support to several initiatives aimed at providing cost-effective high-quality nutrition intervention to all patients.