Obituary for Gary D. James, Ph.D. 1954–2020

It is with considerable sadness that we announce the death of Professor Gary Douglas James who died unexpectedly on October 15, 2020 at the age of 65 of a massive myocardial infarction. Professor James was a Distinguished Professor at the State University of New York at Binghamton (Binghamton University) and the Director of the Biomedical Anthropology Program. Professor James was also the Director of the Institute for Primary and Preventative Health Care at Binghamton University. He previously held the positions of Professor of Nursing and of Biomedical Engineering at Binghamton University. He was best known “on both sides of the pond” for his pioneering research into the interdisciplinary study of stress responses in free-ranging human populations and his contributions to Biological Anthropology. Professor James’ research bridged the scientific divide between human adaptability research and clinical approaches to blood pressure and stress by combining anthropological, biomedical, adaptive and ecological approaches to the understanding of human health, behaviour and physiology.

Professor James obtained his bachelor’s degree at Wake Forest University (1976). He attended graduate school at the Pennsylvania State University where he received his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees (1984) under Paul Thornell Baker, one of the most influential post-World War II biological anthropologists and a pioneer in the field of human adaptation to environmental stress. Professor Baker’s early studies of physiological and morphological adaptation to heat, cold, and altitude were landmark works, and were followed by studies of health transitions in migrant and modernising human populations (Garruto et al. 2009). As a graduate student at Penn State, Gary was one of the innovators in anthropological field studies of biological measurement of stress in human populations, examining the effect of modernisation on urinary catecholamines (stress measure) and Blood Pressure under naturalistic conditions among American Samoans (James et al. 1985, 1987).

After completing his Ph.D., he was appointed to Cornell Weill Medical College (1986–1998), where as an Associate Professor he was part of a team that did ground-breaking work on the use of ambulatory blood pressure measurements in understanding the bio-behavioural factors contributing to hypertension (e.g. Pickering and James 1994; Pickering et al. 1995). The Pickering team, (who Gary fondly referred to as tenacious Tommy) developed the concept of “white coat hypertension,” identifying many people who were characterised as hypertensive due to elevated blood pressure in clinic or medical office settings, which was found to be the underlying cause triggered by the anxiety an individual felt in health care settings (Pickering et al. 1988). More broadly, Gary’s work demonstrated that a single blood pressure measurement does not characterise an individual’s blood pressure; rather he used over 100,000 blood pressure measurements over the course of a day and demonstrated that blood pressure is an allostatic response to one’s experiences and setting, changing as circumstances dictate (James 2004).

Professor James continued his work on biological stress measures during usual daily activities in different occupational groups in New York City and Hawaii, examining the role of job strain in the development of hypertension (e.g. Brown et al. 2006; Pickering et al. 1996). His original research publications (numbering into the three hundreds) spanned many disciplines, in addition to numerous review articles and chapters summarising much of the research being done on stress and ambulatory blood pressure (e.g. James 2007, 2017, 2019, 2020; James and Brown 1997), he also co-edited a volume with Professor Gillian Ice of Ohio University, Measuring Stress in Humans: A Practical Guide for the Field (Ice and James 2007), for which a second edition was being prepared at the time of his death. Importantly, his research emphasised women’s health, for instance exploring the effects of a woman’s menses and menopause on blood pressure variation (James and Marion 1994; James et al. 2004).

Gary James was an active member of numerous professional societies and associations including the American Association of Physical Anthropologists (1980–), American Anthropological Association (2001–), Human Biology Association (1985–), for which he served in various capacities including President-Elect/President from 2002 to 2007, Society of Biodemography and Social Biology (1988–), Society of Behavioural Medicine (1988-Fellow-1994), American Society of Hypertension (1997), The Harvey Society (1985–), American Dermatoglyphics Association (1985–), American Association for the Advancement of Science (Fellow-2009), New York Academy of Sciences International Platform Association (2002–), and the Society for Anthropological Science (2002–). James served as current reviewer for Blood Pressure Monitoring, Current Hypertension Reviews, Open Chemistry Journal, Open Neuroendocrinology Journal, Anthropology, and Public Health Frontiers, and as ad hoc reviewer for over a dozen journals.

GD James’ work was recognised with many awards during his career, including the Franz Boas award for lifetime achievement from the Human Biology Association (2018), SUNY Distinguished Service Professor (2017), as well as the SUNY Chancellor Award for Excellence in Teaching (2009), and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009). At Binghamton University Professor James advised and completed forty-six Masters and PhD candidates successfully.

Professor James’ thoughtful, straight forward approach to research and boundless good humour endeared him to everyone he worked with. His students have continued to contribute to the field of Human Biology and Biomedical Anthropology around the world. Hundreds of students benefitted from his patient mentorship.

Professor Gary D. James was a native New Yorker and is survived by his wife of 43 yrs, Kathleen. Gary will be remembered for his gregarious mien, and for his legacy in Trivial Pursuit. He will be sorely missed by all.