James Edgar Till (born August 25, 1931) is a
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
biophysicist
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study Biology, biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from Molecule, molecular to organismic ...
, best known for demonstrating – with
Ernest McCulloch
Ernest Armstrong McCulloch (27 April 1926 – 20 January 2011) was a University of Toronto cellular biologist, best known for demonstrating – with James Till – the existence of stem cells.
Biography
McCulloch was born in Toronto, Ontar ...
– the existence of
stem cell
In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type o ...
s.
Early work
Till was born in
Lloydminster
Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administrati ...
, which is located on the border between
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
and
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
. The family farm was located north of
Lloydminster
Lloydminster is a city in Canada which has the unusual geographic distinction of straddling the provincial border between Alberta and Saskatchewan. The city is incorporated by both provinces as a single city with a single municipal administrati ...
, in
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
; the eastern margin of the farm was the
Alberta
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...
–
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...
boundary.
He attended the
University of Saskatchewan
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
with scholarships awarded by the
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
Company and the
National Research Council National Research Council may refer to:
* National Research Council (Canada), sponsoring research and development
* National Research Council (Italy), scientific and technological research, Rome
* National Research Council (United States), part of ...
, graduating with a B.Sc. in 1952 and a M.Sc. in physics in 1954. Some of his early work was conducted with
Harold E. Johns Harold Elford Johns (4 July 1915 – 23 August 1998) was a Canadian medical physicist, noted for his extensive contributions to the use of ionizing radiation to treat cancer.
Early life and education
Johns was born to missionary parents in S ...
, a pioneer in
cobalt-60
Cobalt-60 (60Co) is a synthetic radioactive isotope of cobalt with a half-life of 5.2713 years. It is produced artificially in nuclear reactors. Deliberate industrial production depends on neutron activation of bulk samples of the monoisoto ...
radiotherapy
Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...
. Till proceeded to
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
, where he received a Ph.D. in biophysics in 1957. He then became a post-doctoral fellow at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
.
Stem cells
Harold E. Johns Harold Elford Johns (4 July 1915 – 23 August 1998) was a Canadian medical physicist, noted for his extensive contributions to the use of ionizing radiation to treat cancer.
Early life and education
Johns was born to missionary parents in S ...
recruited Till to the
Ontario Cancer Institute
The Ontario Cancer Institute (OCI) is the research division of Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, affiliated to the University Health Network of the University of Toronto Faculty of Medicine. As Canada's first dedicated cancer hospital, it opened of ...
at
Princess Margaret Hospital shortly after he completed his work at Yale. Subsequently, Till chose to work with
Ernest McCulloch
Ernest Armstrong McCulloch (27 April 1926 – 20 January 2011) was a University of Toronto cellular biologist, best known for demonstrating – with James Till – the existence of stem cells.
Biography
McCulloch was born in Toronto, Ontar ...
at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
. Thus, the older physician's insight was combined with the younger physicist's rigorous and thorough nature.
In the early 1960s, McCulloch and Till started a series of experiments that involved injecting
bone marrow
Bone marrow is a semi-solid tissue found within the spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It is composed of hematopoietic ce ...
cells into irradiated mice. They observed that small raised lumps grew on the spleens of the mice, in proportion to the number of bone marrow cells injected. Till and McCulloch dubbed the lumps 'spleen colonies', and speculated that each lump arose from a single marrow cell: perhaps a stem cell.
In later work,
Till & McCulloch
Till & McCulloch are James Till and Ernest McCulloch who, while studying the effect of radiation on the bone marrow of mice at the Ontario Cancer Institute, in Toronto, demonstrated the existence of multipotent stem cells in 1961.
Collaboration ...
were joined by graduate student Andy Becker. They cemented their stem cell theory and in 1963 published their results in ''
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physics, physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomenon, phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. ...
''. In the same year, in collaboration with
Lou Siminovitch, a trailblazer for molecular biology in Canada, they obtained evidence that these same marrow cells were capable of self-renewal, a crucial aspect of the functional definition of stem cells that they had formulated.
In 1969, Till became a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Canada
The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; french: Société royale du Canada, SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bil ...
.
Later career
In the 1980s Till's focus shifted, moving gradually into evaluation of cancer therapies, quality of life issues, and
Internet research
Internet research is the practice of using Internet information, especially free information on the World Wide Web, or Internet-based resources (like Internet discussion forum) in research.
Internet research has had a profound impact on the way id ...
, including
Internet research ethics Internet research ethics involves the research ethics of social science, humanities, and scientific research carried out via the Internet.
Of particular interest is the example of English Wikipedia and research ethics. The usual view is that privat ...
and the ethics of
List mining {{debate, date=September 2015
List mining can be defined as the use, for purposes of scientific research, of messages sent to Internet-based electronic mailing lists. List mining raises novel issues in Internet research ethics. These ethical issues ...
.
Till holds the distinguished title of University Professor Emeritus at the
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
.
Recently, Till has been a vocal proponent of
open access
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
to scientific publications.
Until 2019, Till was an editorial member of the
open access journal
Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...
Journal of Medical Internet Research
The ''Journal of Medical Internet Research'' is a peer-reviewed open-access medical journal established in 1999 covering eHealth and "healthcare in the Internet age". The editors-in-chief are Gunther Eysenbach and Rita Kukafka. The publisher is JM ...
.
Till was a founding member of the Board of Directors of the
Canadian Stem Cell Foundation
The Canadian Stem Cell Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization established in 2008 and situated in Ottawa, Ontario. Stem Cell science is a Canadian innovation through the discovery of stem cells by Drs. James Till and Ernest McCullo ...
(no longer active).
Honours
*1969, he and Ernest A. McCulloch were awarded the
Canada Gairdner International Award
The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a p ...
*1993, awarded
Robert L. Noble Prize by the
National Cancer Institute of Canada
The Canadian Cancer Society (french: Société canadienne du cancer) is Canada's largest national cancer charity and the largest national charitable funder of cancer research in Canada.
History
The idea to form the Canadian Cancer Society origin ...
, now th
research arm of the Canadian Cancer Society*1994, made an Officer of the
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
To coincide with the ...
*2000, made a Fellow of the
Royal Society of London
The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...
*2004, inducted into the
Canadian Medical Hall of Fame __NOTOC__
The Canadian Medical Hall of Fame is a Canadian charitable organization, founded in 1994, that honours Canadians who have contributed to the understanding of disease and improving the health of people. It has an exhibit hall in London, O ...
*2005, he and Ernest A. McCulloch were awarded the
Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
The Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research is one of the prizes awarded by the Lasker Foundation for a fundamental discovery that opens up a new area of biomedical science. The award frequently precedes a Nobel Prize in Medicine; almost 5 ...
*2006, made a member of
Order of Ontario
The Order of Ontario () is the most prestigious official honour in the Canadian province of Ontario. Instituted in 1986 by Lieutenant Governor Lincoln Alexander, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier David Peterson, the civilian order is adm ...
*2018, awarde
Edogawa-NICHE Prize
Selected publications
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External links
Canadian Medical Hall of Fame entryJames Till CV Community of Science
Community of Science was a collection of online databases, providing research information to both the public and subscribers, and services for the research community. It is owned by ProQuest.
History
Community of Science was founded in 1988 by ...
Joint publications by Till and McCulloch, 1961-1969 full text courtesy
University of Toronto
The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...
Follow Jim Till on twitterJames E. Till archival papersheld at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management ServicesU of Toronto researcher James Till receives International Honour
{{DEFAULTSORT:Till, James
1931 births
Living people
Canadian medical researchers
Cancer researchers
Canadian Fellows of the Royal Society
Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada
Members of the Order of Ontario
Officers of the Order of Canada
Stem cell researchers
University of Saskatchewan alumni
People from Lloydminster
Recipients of the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
Yale University alumni
Canadian biophysicists
20th-century Canadian scientists
21st-century Canadian scientists
Scientists from Saskatchewan