Jim was born on 2 August 1944 and lived in Shoeburyness; a small village in Essex, United Kingdom, at the mouth of the Thames estuary. He attended the local grammar school Southend High School whose motto was “For the determined nothing is difficult”. In 1966, he obtained his bachelor degree and in 1969 his doctor of philosophy, referred to as a D.Phil., by his awarding institution, the University of Oxford (Corpus Christi College). The topic of his Ph.D. thesis was the blood–brain and blood–cerebrospinal fluid barriers. Jim was supervised by R. V. Coxon, who was a notable physiologist. Soon after agreeing to supervise Jim, Professor Coxon suffered from poor health following a head injury. It was, therefore, common knowledge that Jim’s achievement of attaining his doctorate was largely self-driven.
Jim was awarded two “Blues” as the goal-keeper in two annual Oxford versus Cambridge varsity matches. These matches represent the oldest rivalry in hockey, with 2016 being the 114th consecutive year of competition. It is considered an esteemed honour to play the varsity match and to be awarded a Blue. Once having earned this, a student may be referred to as “a Blue” or a “Blues athlete”.
Having graduated from Oxford University, Jim began work at the University of Manchester as an assistant lecturer in the department of physiology. The topic of teaching and research (chronobiology) was initially unfamiliar to Jim. The research group leader and Jim’s mentor was Brackenbury Professor of Physiology, John Norton Mills. Professor Mills was a pioneer in the area of human circadian rhythms, and the department of physiology was at the time one of the most outstanding centres for such research in the world. One year later in 1970, David Minors joined the group; Jim and David worked together for 25 years and co-authored about 128 papers together. Jim became a lecturer in 1971. In December 1977, John Mills tragically died in a mountaineering accident in North Wales. The research group which had numbered 5 was now down to just Jim and David, and they highlight the timely intervention of Professor Stanley Thomas, who in the months after Mills’ death gave them the opportunity to continue research in the field of human circadian rhythms.
Both Jim and David very much operated as equals in the partnership and they co-wrote one of the most iconic books entitled Circadian Rhythms and the Human (1981). Jim once said that in order to write the chapters of this book, he “read the literature for 2 hours a night for 2 years”. Jim became a senior lecturer in 1981 and a reader in 1992. In 1995, Jim was invited to move to Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) by one of his collaborators, Tom Reilly. At the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Science of LJMU, Jim obtained his professorship in biological rhythms in 2000 and, later, was awarded his higher doctorate (doctor of science, D.Sc.) in 2006 for a collection of works entitled “Some Circadian rhythms in humans”. Jim retired and became a valued emeritus professor in August 2009.
Jim was president-elect (1989–1991) and president (1992–1996) of the European Society for Chronobiology, and president-elect (1995–1997), then president (1997–2001) of the International Society for Chronobiology. Jim was also an active member of the editorial boards of “Chronobiology International” and “Biological Rhythm Research”. His contributions were invaluable. Not only did he review manuscripts thoroughly and give valuable comments to the authors – but in many cases he spent a lot of time editing the text into more robust English for clearer scientific communication.
Jim’s knowledge of biological rhythms and physiology in general was extremely broad and deep, and he loved to share this knowledge with others, particularly with young people. His lectures were always brilliant – comprehensible and well structured. He had an extraordinary capability to transform the most complex topics into easy understanding for any audience. Indeed many students will recall intricate physiology concepts with lines like, “and that is why Giraffes will never go to space”. Accordingly, Jim was well appreciated as a speaker and discussant at national and international chronobiological meetings. For about 12 years, Jim lectured at the annual International Course of Chronopharmocology organized by Björn Lemmer in Mannheim, Germany, in the United Kingdom at King’s College, London University (for 20 years); Roehampon Institute, Surrey University (for 20 years); University College, London University (for 15 years); Birmingham University (for 6 years); Cranfield University (for 3 years) as well as on a series of one-off programmes such as a one-week course at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany, in 1993; a 5-day course at the Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil, in 2006; and two courses in Japan (2008).
Jim’s research was predominantly on humans. He planned, conducted and analysed experiments not only in his department but also he collaborated enthusiastically and intensively with scientists interested in chronobiology from other laboratories in the United Kingdom and worldwide. When asked in 2005 to summarise his work for submission of his D.Sc., Jim ordered his research into three main foci. First, investigating the mechanisms by which the environment and the circadian pacemaker (the “body clock” – Jim’s favoured term) interact to produce circadian rhythmicity, and then the most suitable rhythm to act as a marker of the body clock. Second, any differences in babies, the ill and aged individuals from young, healthy adults were investigated with a view to understanding the development and decay of circadian system, and factors influencing it adversely. Third, the effects of altered sleep–wake schedules (e.g. sleep loss, time-zones transitions and night work) upon individuals’ subjective feelings and objective assessments of their mental and physical performance (including “jet lag” and “shift workers’ malaise”). In all cases, the results of the work have provided a firmer scientific base and rationale for giving advice.
Highlighting some of Jim’s research work
Jim’s research undertaken at the beginning of the 1990s was focussed on the investigation of a human phase response curve (PRC) for light, that is, whether exposure of humans to bright light at different times of the day can shift the phase of the circadian timing system in a predictable direction. In 1991, the first photic PRC for humans was published in a paper co-authored by David Minors and Anna Wirz-Justice from Basel (Switzerland). The usefulness of such studies was that not only did it give a scientific foundation to the use of bright light for the treatment of seasonal affective disorder and other diseases caused by circadian disruption, but it also provided a mechanism by which the phase of the circadian timing system can be rapidly shifted for example after a flight through several time zones thus providing a platform for bright light interventions which could alleviate jet lag which, at least in part, is due to a mismatch between the body clock and external time.
For nearly five decades, Jim was engaged in the study of endogenous and exogenous components of overt daily rhythms. His research centred upon developing methods by which the two components, normally simultaneously present, could be described separately. A method that enables the phase of rhythms to be assessed free from the confounding influences of the external environment and other internal factors which may mask the expression of the circadian pacemaker in any overt rhythm is the so-called constant routine protocol. This technique was developed with the group leader, John Mills, and subsequently was termed the “Mills test” in his memory. The constant routine protocol is used worldwide today by many different research teams. It removes the masking influences at their source, and is generally considered to provide assessments of the phase of a circadian rhythm that are the “gold standard”. However, it is arduous to perform and inappropriate for body clock assessment on consecutive days and for studies upon animals and young subjects, for example. The same holds for another approach, the forced desynchronisation protocol. Therefore, Jim developed statistical methods to remove the impact of external factors from data obtained under field conditions. These so-called purification methods were mainly used to unmask body temperature data, as the endogenous body temperature rhythm is considered being a good estimate for the body clock. The first method was the “purification by categories”. Their usefulness was shown in several studies on new-born babies performed in collaboration with Stephen D’Souza (St. Mary’s Hospital, Manchester) and Uwe Sitka and Dietmar Weinert (Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle, Germany). Moreover, modifications of this method were used to unmask circadian rhythms in cancer patients (Francis Levi, Villejuif, France) and circadian blood pressure profiles of hypertensive and normotensive rats (Björn Lemmer, Ruprecht-Karls University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany).
In cooperation with Dietmar Weinert, the purification methods were developed further. By the means of regression analyses, it was possible not only to get a better estimate of the endogenous rhythm but also to characterize the efficiency of the thermoregulatory system. Also, a putative phase dependence on exogenous effects can be identified with this approach. The method was initially less successful in humans, but when temperatures were corrected for the extra fall during sleep, the method was as successful in dealing with data from humans as from rodents and is the only alternative to constant routines. Further, in 2005 Jim was able to show that estimates by purification methods of phase changes following a simulated time-zone transition did not differ significantly nor practically (since they were less than 1 hour) from estimates using the “gold standard”, constant routines (Waterhouse et al., 2005; Chronobiology International, 22(5): 829–858).
Jet lag is due to a body clock unadjustment to the new time zone, but the detailed causes of its symptoms are unclear. Jim with colleagues at LJMU (Tom Reilly, Greg Atkinson and Ben Edwards) developed a questionnaire (Liverpool Jet lag questionnaire) to assess the severity of jet lag and its symptoms, and this was used on travellers from the United Kingdom to Australia. The findings of this work provided detailed information on reducing jet lag, advocating promoting adjustment of the body clock is important using behavioural strategies such as appropriately timed light avoidance and exposure (using Jim’s PRC to light). By contrast, exercise had little phase-shifting effect (Edwards PRC to exercise), and melatonin was ineffective in reducing jet lag. This work has been pivotal in informing Olympic and international athletes for the last 25 years and produced a position statement for the European College of Sport Sciences (2007); and in 2000, a response was made to a commissioned call about the aircraft cabin environment by the House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology in the United Kingdom. Contribution of the Jim’s work in the JMU chronobiology group was acknowledged in their Lordships’ report – demonstrating the impact of Jim’s work in informing governmental policy.
Jim was a prolific writer and consummate scientist, always looking for a “beautiful yet simplistic design” in research. He has published several books, an excess of 300 research papers (with more currently being prepared for publication) and an “H-index” of 45, as well as numerous book chapters and reviews. Jim was a tireless scientist and teacher. Also after his retirement, he would not stop working – and when asked he would reply “why would I stop my hobby?” Even 2 days before his death, he was still asking for pdfs of papers from other researchers. Jim was a great disseminator of information, attending and acting as a keynote speaker at scientific conferences and was an active member of editorial boards. Also, he continued to teach young scientist from various countries. He helped them in all aspects of science from designing their experiments to analysing and interpreting their results.
Jim had many interests besides biological rhythms and physiology. He loved to travel with his wife, Liz. He enjoyed photography and even made his own films of countries he visited, highlighting its history and traditions. Jim enjoyed his life as evidenced by his ever smiling face and positive attitude. Jim loved to spend time with his family; Liz, and his two children (Richard and Philippa), and three grandchildren (Matthew, Eleanor and Emeline). Jim was passionate about classical music and independent films. A few months before his death, he and Liz attended the Handel festival in Halle. He loved walking on the moors and mountains (in Scotland especially Skye, and the Peak District). One of his most proud achievements was solo walking the Pennine Way from Edale in the Peak District to Kirk Yetholm on the Scottish border, some 268 miles.
Jim and his wife were extremely generous. Their home was open not only for family members and close friends but also for colleagues and students. The atmosphere was always cordial and cheerful. Jim loved good food (with a penchant for roast lamb or a full English breakfast), fine wines and single-malt Scottish whiskies. Those who had the pleasure to have a drink with him were regaled with accounts of how the whiskies (especially Laphroaig) were processed to arrive at their distinctive features.
Jim leaves a great void, passing away too early at the age of 72 years. We will miss him, his kind, fun-loving and intellectual personality, fruitful discussions and collaborations. We all – his friends, family, colleagues and students – will keep wonderful memories. One of Jim’s many profound quotes was, “On the backs of giants we can touch the stars”. Jim was not just a giant in his field but a star which shone positivity on everyone around him.