Russell Foster facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Russell Foster
|
|
|---|---|
.JPG) |
|
| Born | 19 August 1959 |
| Nationality | British |
| Alma mater | University of Bristol |
| Awards | Honma Prize (Japan), David G. Cogan Award (USA), Zoological Society Scientific and Edridge-Green Medals (UK) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | University of Oxford |
| Thesis | An investigation of the extraretinal photoreceptors mediating photoperiodic induction in the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) (1978) |
| Academic advisors | Brian Follett |
Russell Grant Foster (born in 1959) is a British professor who studies how our bodies tell time. He is an expert in circadian neuroscience. This is the study of our natural 24-hour body clock.
Professor Foster leads the Nuffield Laboratory of Ophthalmology. He is also the head of the Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute (SCNi) at the University of Oxford. He is well-known for helping to discover special light-sensing cells in the eye. These cells are called photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (pRGCs). They help control our body's daily rhythms. He has written many scientific papers. Since 2018, he has been the main editor for the Interface Focus journal.
Contents
Who is Russell Foster?
His Education Journey
Russell Foster went to Heron Wood School in his hometown of Aldershot, England. He then studied at the University of Bristol. In 1980, he earned a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in Zoology. He continued his studies at the University of Bristol. In 1984, he received his PhD. His research was about how light affects Japanese quails.
His Career Path
From 1988 to 1995, Professor Foster worked in the United States. He was part of the National Science Foundation Center for Biological Rhythms. There, he worked closely with another scientist, Michael Menaker. In 1995, he came back to the UK. He started his own laboratory at Imperial College London. He became a professor of molecular neuroscience there. Later, he moved his lab to the University of Oxford. This move helped him focus on research that could be used to help people.
What Did He Discover?
The Brain's Body Clock Center
While at the University of Virginia, Professor Foster and Michael Menaker did important experiments. They studied a part of the brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). The SCN is like the master clock for our body's rhythms. They took the SCN from hamsters with a fast body clock. They put it into hamsters with a normal body clock. They also did the opposite.
After the swap, the hamsters' body clocks changed. They started following the rhythm of the hamster that donated the SCN. This showed that the SCN is truly in charge of our daily rhythms. It proved that the SCN is both needed and enough to control the body's clock.
Eyes Can See Light Without Rods and Cones
In 1991, Professor Foster and his team found something surprising. They showed that special cells in the eye, called rods and cones, are not always needed for animals to sense light. This light sensing helps their body clocks stay on track. They studied mice that had damaged retinas. These mice had almost no rods and very few cones.
They found that these mice could still adjust their body clocks to light. This was just like mice with healthy eyes. Professor Foster thought that there might be other types of light-sensing cells in the eye.
In 1999, he continued his research. He studied mice that had no cones, or no rods and no cones. These mice could still sense light and adjust their body clocks. But mice with their eyes removed could not. This proved that the eye has other cells that sense light. Later, scientists found these cells. They are called photoreceptive retinal ganglion cells (pGRCs). These cells contain a special protein called melanopsin. They are responsible for sensing light even when rods and cones are not working.
Books He Wrote
Professor Foster has written several books for everyone to read. These books explain how our body clocks work. He co-wrote Rhythms of Life: The Biological Clocks that Control the Daily Lives of Every Living Thing. He also co-wrote Seasons of Life: The Biological Rhythms That Enable Living Things to Thrive and Survive. He helped write Sleep: a Very Short Introduction. His book Life Time: The New Science of the Body Clock, and How It Can Revolutionize Your Sleep and Health shares new discoveries about our body clocks.
Awards and Recognition
Professor Foster has received many awards for his important work. In 2008, he became a fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honor for scientists in the UK. In 2015, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). This award was for his great contributions to science. In 2020, he won The Daylight Award. This was for his studies on how light affects people.
Notable Awards
Professor Foster has been recognized around the world for discovering pRGCs:
- Honma Prize (Japan, 1997)
- David G. Cogan Award (USA, 2001)
- Zoological Society Scientific Medal (UK, 2000)
- Edridge Green Medal (Royal College of Ophthalmologists, UK, 2005)
- Peter C. Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine (2015)
- Nikken International Science Award (2015)
- The Daylight Award (2020)
