James Frederic Riley

Dr James Frederic Riley FRSE FRCSE (1912–1985) was a 20th century British physician, radiologist and cancer specialist. His identification (working jointly with Dr Geoffrey West) that the Mast cell was the main producer of histamine in the human body resulted in his being made a Visiting Professor at the University of Montreal and to his being awarded the Claude Bernard Medal for medical achievement.[1] He was one of the first to identify the link between mast cells and asthma and the potential use of antihistamines in this field.[2]

Life

He was born in Settle, Yorkshire on 2 May 1912. He was educated at Giggleswick School in Yorkshire.

He studied Medicine at Edinburgh University, graduating MB ChB in 1935. In 1938 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. In the Second World War he served as Assistant Surgeon to the Scottish Emergency Medical Service, and for the final year served at the rank of Major with the OC Mobile Surgical Unit in India and Malaysia. [3] Returning to Edinburgh he received his doctorate (MD) in 1946. However, despite intentions to be a surgeon, a skin complaint on his hands prevented his being a surgeon, and he instead retrained as a radiologist, with particular interest in the use of x-rays in cancer treatment.[4]

In 1948 he took on the role of Consultant Radiologist at Dundee Royal Infirmary. In 1950 he took on the additional role of Reader in Radiotherapy at St Andrews University (the Medical subjects then being taught in Dundee).

In 1958 he received a second doctorate (PhD), from St Andrews University. In 1968 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were George H Bell, Rex Coupland, Ian George Wilson Hill and James Ernest Richey.[5]

He retired in 1976 and died in St Andrews on 17 January 1985.

Recognition

In 2015 Dundee erected a plaque to his memory as part of the city's "Discovery Walk".[6]

Publications

  • Experiments in Carcinogenesis 1939-1944 (1946)
  • Skin Histamine: its Location in the Tissue Mast cells (1956)

References

  1. ↑ https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/2b32eb96-50d7-3378-9bdf-2fa16b3dbcf1
  2. ↑ Psychoneuroimmunology by Rober Ader
  3. ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X.
  4. ↑ https://www.dundee.ac.uk/archives/news/2015/james-f-riley-celebrating-dundees-great-and-good.php
  5. ↑ Biographical Index of Former Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 1783–2002 (PDF). The Royal Society of Edinburgh. July 2006. ISBN 0 902 198 84 X.
  6. ↑ https://www.dundee.ac.uk/archives/news/2015/james-f-riley-celebrating-dundees-great-and-good.php


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