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Russell Foster

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Russell Foster
CBE,FRSFMedSci
Born(1959-08-19)19 August 1959(age 65)
Aldershot,Hampshire,England
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Bristol
SpouseElizabeth Ann Downes
Children3
AwardsHonma Prize (Japan), David G. Cogan Award (USA), Zoological Society Scientific and Edridge-Green Medals (UK)
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience
InstitutionsUniversity of Oxford
ThesisAn investigation of the extraretinal photoreceptors mediating photoperiodic induction in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)(1978)
Academic advisorsBrian Follett
Websitewww.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/academic-staff/445-professor-russell-foster

Russell Grant Foster,CBE,FRSFMedSci(born 1959)[1][2]is a British professor ofcircadianneuroscience,the Director of theNuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmologyand the Head of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi).[3][4]He is also a Nicholas Kurti Senior Fellow atBrasenose College[5]at theUniversity of Oxford.[6]Foster and his group are credited with key contributions to the discovery of the non-rod,non-cone,photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (pRGCs)in the mammalianretinawhich provide input to thecircadian rhythmsystem. He has written and co-authored over a hundred scientific publications.[6]

Since 2018 he has beenEditor-in-Chiefof theRoyal SocietyjournalInterface Focus.

Biography

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Education

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Foster attendedHeron Wood Schoolin his nativeAldershotand studied at theUniversity of Bristoland graduated with a Bachelor of Science (BSc) inZoologyin 1980. He also carried out postgraduate studies at theUniversity of Bristolunder the supervision ofBrian Follett,and was awarded a PhD in 1984 for his thesis entitledAn investigation of the extraretinal photoreceptors mediating photoperiodic induction in theJapanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).[7][8]

Career

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From 1988 to 1995 Foster was a member of theNational Science FoundationCenter for Biological Rhythms at theUniversity of Virginia,where he worked closely withMichael Menaker.[4]In 1995, he returned to UK and started his own lab atImperial College,where he became Chair of Molecular Neuroscience within the Faculty of Medicine. He later transferred his laboratory to theUniversity of Oxfordto engage in moretranslational research.[9]

Scientific works

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Transplanted suprachiasmatic nucleus determines circadian period

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While at the University of Virginia, Foster and Menaker performed experiments where thesuprachiasmatic nucleus(SCN) was tested by neural transplantation of donor's SCN to a recipient with an ablated SCN. In the experiment, the donor was a mutant strain of hamster with a shortened circadian period. The recipient was awild-typehamster. Transplantation was done the other way around as well, with wild-type hamster as the donor and mutant strain hamster as the recipient. After the transplantation, the formerly wild-type hamster displayed a shortened period which resembled the mutant, and the mutant-strain hamster showed normal period. The SCN restored rhythm to arrhythmic recipients, which afterwards always exhibited the circadian period of the donor. This result led to the conclusion that the SCN is sufficient and necessary for mammalian circadian rhythms.[10]

Rods and cones unnecessary for entrainment

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In 1991, Foster and his colleagues provided evidence that rods and cones are not necessary forentrainmentof an animal to light.[11]In this experiment, Foster gave light pulses to retinally degenerative mice. These mice werehomozygousfor therdallele and were shown to have norodsin their retina. Only a fewconeswere found to remain in the retina. To study the effects of light entrainment, magnitude of phase shift of locomotor activity was measured. The results showed that both mice with normalretinaand mice with degenerate retina showed similar entrainment patterns. Foster hypothesized that circadian photoreception occurs with a small number of cones without an outer layer or that an unrecognised class of photoreceptive cells are present.

In 1999, Foster studied light entrainment on mice without cones or both rods and cones.[12]Mice without cones or without both photoreceptive cells (rd/rd clallele) still entrained to light. Meanwhile, mice with eyes removed could not entrain to light. Foster concluded that rods and cones are unnecessary for entrainment to light, and that themurineeye contains additional photoreceptive cell types. Later studies showed thatmelanopsinexpressingphotoreceptive retinal ganglion cells(pGRCs) were accountable for non-rod, non-cone entrainment to light.[13][14]

Literary works

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He is the co-author with writer and broadcaster Leon Kreitzman of two popular science books on circadian rhythms,Rhythms of Life: The Biological Clocks that Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing[15][16]andSeasons of Life: The Biological Rhythms That Enable Living Things to Thrive and Survive.[17]He has also co-written a book titledSleep: a Very Short Introduction.[18]He wroteLife Time: The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep and Health.[19]

Awards and honours

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Foster was elected a fellow of theRoyal Societyin 2008.[3]

Foster was appointedCommander of the Order of the British Empire(CBE) in the 2015 New Year Honours for services to science.[20][21]

Russell Foster was awarded withThe Daylight Award2020 in the category Daylight Research, for his clinical studies in humans addressing important questions regarding light.

Notable awards

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Foster has received recognition from around the world for his discovery of pRGCs:

  • Honma Prize (Japan, 1997)[22]
  • David G. Cogan Award (USA, 2001)[23]
  • Zoological Society Scientific Medal (UK, 2000)[24]
  • Edridge Green Medal (Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK, 2005)[24]
  • Peter C. Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine (2015)[25]
  • Nikken International Science Award for his expertise in the neuroscience of sleep.(2015)[26]
  • The Daylight Award 2020, for Daylight Research

References

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  1. ^Footprint, Professor."Dellam Corporate Information Limited, England".
  2. ^Killian Fox (25 June 2022)."Sleep scientist Russell Foster: 'I want to take the anxiety around sleep away'".The Guardian.Retrieved25 June2022.
  3. ^ab"Russell Foster | Royal Society".The Royal Society.Retrieved13 April2017.
  4. ^ab"Russell Foster – Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences".University of Oxford.Retrieved13 April2017.
  5. ^https://www.bnc.ox.ac.uk/about-brasenose/news/1322-professor-russell-foster-cbeProfessor Russell Foster, Brasenose College
  6. ^ab"Russell Foster, BSc, PhD, FRS".Oxford Neuroscience.The Medical Sciences Division, University of Oxford. 2008.Retrieved24 January2010.
  7. ^Foster, R. G.; Follett, B. K.; Lythgoe, J. N. (1985). "Rhodopsin-like sensitivity of extra-retinal photoreceptors mediating the photoperiodic response in quail".Nature.313(5997): 50–52.Bibcode:1985Natur.313...50F.doi:10.1038/313050a0.PMID3965970.S2CID4257141.
  8. ^Konishi, H.; Foster, R. G.; Follett, B. K. (1987). "Evidence for a daily rhythmicity in the acute release of luteinizing hormone in response to electrical stimulation in the Japanese quail".Journal of Comparative Physiology A.161(2): 315–319.doi:10.1007/BF00615251.PMID3625579.S2CID1689119.
  9. ^"Professor Russell Foster | University of Oxford".University of Oxford.Retrieved13 April2017.
  10. ^Ralph, M. R.; Foster, R. G.; Davis, F. C.; Menaker, M. (23 February 1990). "Transplanted suprachiasmatic nucleus determines circadian period".Science.247(4945): 975–978.Bibcode:1990Sci...247..975R.doi:10.1126/science.2305266.ISSN0036-8075.PMID2305266.
  11. ^Foster, R. G.; Provencio, I.; Hudson, D.; Fiske, S.; De Grip, W.; Menaker, M. (1 July 1991). "Circadian photoreception in the retinally degenerate mouse (rd/rd)".Journal of Comparative Physiology A.169(1): 39–50.doi:10.1007/bf00198171.PMID1941717.S2CID1124159.
  12. ^Lucas, R. J.; Freedman, M. S.; Muñoz, M.; Garcia-Fernández, J. M.; Foster, R. G. (16 April 1999). "Regulation of the mammalian pineal by non-rod, non-cone, ocular photoreceptors".Science.284(5413): 505–507.Bibcode:1999Sci...284..505L.doi:10.1126/science.284.5413.505.ISSN0036-8075.PMID10205062.
  13. ^Ruby, Norman F.; Brennan, Thomas J.; Xie, Xinmin; Cao, Vinh; Franken, Paul; Heller, H. Craig; O'Hara, Bruce F. (13 December 2002). "Role of Melanopsin in Circadian Responses to Light".Science.298(5601): 2211–2213.Bibcode:2002Sci...298.2211R.doi:10.1126/science.1076701.ISSN0036-8075.PMID12481140.S2CID39565298.
  14. ^Hattar, S.; Liao, H.-W.; Takao, M.; Berson, D. M.; Yau, K.-W. (8 February 2002)."Melanopsin-Containing Retinal Ganglion Cells: Architecture, Projections, and Intrinsic Photosensitivity".Science.295(5557): 1065–1070.Bibcode:2002Sci...295.1065H.doi:10.1126/science.1069609.ISSN0036-8075.PMC2885915.PMID11834834.
  15. ^Leon Kreitzman; Russell G. Foster (2004).Rhythms of life: the biological clocks that control the daily lives of every living thing.New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-10969-6.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. ^Harman, Oren (24 December 2008)."Time After Time"(Book Review).The New Republic.Retrieved5 July2009.
  17. ^Leon Kreitzman; Russell G. Foster (2009).Seasons of Life: The Biological Rhythms That Enable Living Things to Thrive and Survive.New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press.ISBN978-0-300-11556-7.{{cite book}}:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^Stephen W. Lockley, Russell G. Foster (2012).Sleep: a Very Short Introduction.Oxford: OUP Oxford.ISBN978-0-19958-785-8.
  19. ^Foster, Russell (1 May 2023).Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep and Health.Penguin Books, Limited.ISBN978-0-241-52931-7.
  20. ^"No. 61092".The London Gazette(Supplement). 31 December 2014. p. N9.
  21. ^"2015 New Year Honours List"(PDF).
  22. ^"Nhất bàn tài đoàn pháp nhân アショフ・ホンマ ký niệm tài đoàn".Retrieved14 April2017.
  23. ^Besharse, Joseph (2002)."Introduction of Russell G. Foster, the 2001 Recipient of the David G. Cogan Award".Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.43(5): 1285.PMID11980835.
  24. ^ab"Professor Russell Foster".Brasenose College, University of Oxford.
  25. ^"2015 Prize Recipient: Russell Grant Foster, CBE, FSB, FMedSci, FRS".sleep.hms.harvard.edu.Retrieved14 January2024.
  26. ^"Russell Foster receives Nikken International Science Award".www.ndcn.ox.ac.uk.Retrieved14 January2024.
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