Dr James Riley, Pioneer in Histamine and Mast Cell Studies

Dr James Riley, an honours graduate of Edinburgh University, had to give up a surgical career because of an affliction of his hands, and instead became a radiotherapist in Dundee. He had always been fascinated by past heroes of medical research, and set out to carve his own niche in the study of mast cells. In the early 1950s, no one knew what their function was other than the mast cell granules being the storehouses of heparin. Riley and pharmacologist Dr Geoffrey West went on to galvanise this area of study by showing in a notable series of experiments that the mast cell granules are also the main repository of histamine, a key participant in allergic and anaphylactic reactions. Riley's story is a prime example of the ability to make cutting-edge discoveries even in the face of modest facilities.