Sir Brian Keith Follett (born 22 February 1939) is a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

, academic administrator, and policy maker. His research focused upon how the environment, particularly the annual change in day-length (photoperiod), controls breeding in birds and

mammals Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur o ...

. Knighted in 1992, he won the

Frink Medal The Frink Medal for British Zoologists is awarded by the Zoological Society of London "For significant and original contributions by a professional zoologist to the development of zoology." It consists of a bronze plaque (76 by 83 millimetres), de ...

(1993) and has been a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

since 1984, and served as the Chair of the UK government's teacher training agencyUK Training and Development Agency for Schools, ''Annual report and accounts''. , London, UK: TSO, July 9, 2009, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/training-and-development-agency-for-schools-annual-report-and-accounts-2008-to-2009. and

Arts and Humanities Research Council The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), formerly Arts and Humanities Research Board (AHRB), is a British research council, established in 1998, supporting research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities. History The Arts ...

, and was

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor ...

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

."History of the University," University of Warwick, last modified Jan 21, 2019, https://warwick.ac.uk/about/history/

Education and early life

Follett was educated at Bournemouth School and studied

biological chemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. On graduating he undertook a

Ph.D A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

. with Professor Hans Heller in the Department of Pharmacology. That work introduced him to

endocrinology Endocrinology (from '' endocrine'' + '' -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the integration of developmental event ...

and the development of assays to understand the physiological role of hormones.

Career and research

In 1964 Follett moved to

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant uni ...

and joined Donald Farner's group investigating

photoperiodism Photoperiodism is the physiological reaction of organisms to the length of night or a dark period. It occurs in plants and animals. Plant photoperiodism can also be defined as the developmental responses of plants to the relative lengths of light a ...

. Follett's research focus became on the brain pathways whereby birds (and mammals) measure day length and use its changes to regulate breeding. He became a lecturer at

Leeds University , mottoeng = And knowledge will be increased , established = 1831 – Leeds School of Medicine1874 – Yorkshire College of Science1884 - Yorkshire College1887 – affiliated to the federal Victoria University1904 – University of Leeds , ...

then moved with James Dodd FRS group to the University of Bangor in 1969, then to the

University of Bristol , mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'') , established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter , type ...

in 1978. He moved to

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

in 1993 as Vice-Chancellor.

Research programmes

Follett's studies used, as model species, the

Japanese quail The Japanese quail (''Coturnix japonica''), also known as the coturnix quail, is a species of Old World quail found in East Asia. First considered a subspecies of the common quail, it is now considered as a separate species. The Japanese quail ...

and later wild-caught

starlings Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus '' Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

. His work included the development of the first

radioimmunoassay A radioimmunoassay (RIA) is an immunoassay that uses radiolabeled molecules in a stepwise formation of immune complexes. A RIA is a very sensitive in vitro assay technique used to measure concentrations of substances, usually measuring antigen conc ...

to measure bird

luteinizing hormone Luteinizing hormone (LH, also known as luteinising hormone, lutropin and sometimes lutrophin) is a hormone produced by gonadotropic cells in the anterior pituitary gland. The production of LH is regulated by gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) ...

(LH) in collaboration with Frank Cunningham (

Reading University The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

) and Colin Scanes. This made it possible to measure LH in 10 microliters of plasma and so follow circulating hormone levels in individual birds exposed to photoperiods of many types. Using gonadectomized

quail Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally placed in the order Galliformes. The collective noun for a group of quail is a flock, covey, or bevy. Old World quail are placed in the family Phasianidae, and New ...

it was possible to show unequivocally that the underlying photoperiodic response in birds (but not mammals) is driven by

brain circuits A neural circuit is a population of neurons interconnected by synapses to carry out a specific function when activated. Neural circuits interconnect to one another to form large scale brain networks. Biological neural networks have inspired the ...

that are switched on an off by day length. It demonstrated that measuring day length involved a daily ( circadian) rhythm in photosensitivity with the birds being responsive to light particularly 12 and 18 hours after

dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's hori ...

. In other words, if light fell at these hours then the day was read as “long”, if not then it was read as “short”. In 1978 as the Chair of

Zoology Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, his research interest included mammals, notably

sheep Sheep or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are domesticated, ruminant mammals typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to domesticated ...

, and occasionally wild birds such as albatrosses,

swans Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

gulls Gulls, or colloquially seagulls, are seabirds of the family Laridae in the suborder Lari (bird), Lari. They are most closely related to the terns and Skimmer (bird), skimmers and only distantly related to auks, and even more distantly to waders ...

and

partridges A partridge is a medium-sized galliform bird in any of several genera, with a wide native distribution throughout parts of Europe, Asia and Africa. Several species have been introduced to the Americas. They are sometimes grouped in the Perdic ...

. Key studies included: (a) The development of a rapid photoperiodic response system: The research group followed the neural and endocrine changes as photoinduction as it occurred in real time. The first overt change when quail are exposed to a single long day is a rise in LH secretion at about hour 20. This model was applied: to show definitively the circadian nature of the photoperiodic clock and its complex properties as an oscillator, to measure (with Russell Foster) the action spectrum for the non-retinal light receptors, and in many studies to determine the timed sequence of neural changes as induction occurred. Subsequently, Takashi Yoshimura in Japan used the quail to investigate these changes in molecular terms and was able to connect these into the separate discoveries that thyroid hormones play a critical role in the photoperiodic response (see below). (b) The termination of seasonal reproduction (refractoriness): The photoperiodic response that long days (or short days in sheep) can not only induce reproductive maturity but also end it. The

gonads A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, produces sper ...

suddenly collapse and this has evolved as a means of ensuring each species has an optimal but limited time to breed each year. The term refractoriness is used since the animal becomes refractory to the prevailing photoperiod. The Bristol group found, quite counterintuitively, that

thyroid hormones File:Thyroid_system.svg, upright=1.5, The thyroid system of the thyroid hormones T3 and T4 rect 376 268 820 433 Thyroid-stimulating hormone rect 411 200 849 266 Thyrotropin-releasing hormone rect 297 168 502 200 Hypothalamus rect 66 216 386 25 ...

are critical for refractoriness to develop and be maintained. This had been tentatively suggested in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

prior to

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

but was developed by Trevor Nicholls, Arthur Goldsmith and Alistair Dawson. In simple terms, removal of the thyroid glands stopped refractoriness developing in starlings (and other birds) as well as sheep, and the animals remained in breeding condition perpetually and were not photorefractory. Thyroid hormone replacement reinstates the refractory state. Importantly birds are hatched in a refractory state but this is ended by removing the thyroid glands (per Tony Williams). The research group published papers on the concept which has become established in the understanding of the photoneuroendocrine pathway. Funding came from the

Agricultural and Food Research Council The Agricultural and Food Research Council (AFRC) was a British Research Council responsible for funding and managing scientific and technological developments in farming and horticulture. History The AFRC was formed in 1983 from its predecessor, ...

(AFRC), later renamed the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), and Follett's group became a research council Research Group on Photoperiodism and Reproduction, with 413 scientific papers and reviews.

Academic administration

Follett was Head of the Department of

(later

Biological Sciences Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary ...

) at the

for fifteen years (1978-1993), and Biological Secretary of the

Royal Society 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 ...

from 1978 until 1993. He then served for eight years as Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Warwick , mottoeng = Mind moves matter , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £7.0 million (2021) , budget = £698.2 million (2020� ...

. He was the founding Chair of the

(2001-2009).James Herbert, ''Creating the AHRC'' (Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 2008) 100. He also chaired the government's Teacher Training Agency (TTA) and its successor body the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) from 2004-2010. For sixteen years, Follett was a

visiting Professor In academia, a visiting scholar, visiting researcher, visiting fellow, visiting lecturer, or visiting professor is a scholar from an institution who visits a host university to teach, lecture, or perform research on a topic for which the visitor ...

in Zoology at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...

, teaching environmental physiology to undergraduates. Follett was appointed to the Council of the AFRC/BBSRC and then to the UFC (

Universities Funding Council The Universities Funding Council (UFC) was a UK body established under the Education Reform Act 1988 replacing the University Grants Committee. It distributed funds provided by central government to universities for the provision of education and ...

) and its subsequent body - HEFCE (Higher Education Funding Council for England). He served on the Council of London Zoo (and

Bristol Zoo Bristol Zoo was a zoo in the city of Bristol in South West England. The zoo's stated mission was to "maintain and defend” biodiversity through breeding endangered species, conserving threatened species and habitats and promoting a wider unders ...

) and as a

Trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

of the

Natural History Museum A natural history museum or museum of natural history is a scientific institution with natural history collections that include current and historical records of animals, plants, fungi, ecosystems, geology, paleontology, climatology, and more. ...

. He was elected to the

in 1984 and volunteered as the Biological Secretary for six years, making changes to the organisation and extending the Royal Society University Fellowship scheme. He was knighted in 1992. In 1992 he was appointed to the Vice-Chancellorship at the University of Warwick and led it from 1993 until 2001. The University improved its ranking in the published league tables with strengths in Engineering (Warwick Manufacturing Group), Mathematics, Economics, Sociology and the Humanities. The Warwick Research Fellowships began as an annual £10m scheme in 1994, to attract the brightest young researchers in the UK and abroad. Success was seen in the Research Assessment Exercises of 1996 and 2001. £100m of capital building was undertaken. Warwick is a founding member of the

Russell Group The Russell Group is a self-selected association of twenty-four public research universities in the United Kingdom. The group is headquartered in Cambridge and was established in 1994 to represent its members' interests, principally to governmen ...

. It opened a graduate-entry medical school in 2001, President Clinton, with Prime Minister Blair, visited the university and gave a valedictory speech on foreign policy. Follett has chaired committees for the UK government including reporting on the future of university libraries, research in the humanities, and the

foot-and-mouth Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) or hoof-and-mouth disease (HMD) is an infectious and sometimes fatal viral disease that affects cloven-hoofed animals, including domestic and wild bovids. The virus causes a high fever lasting two to six days, follow ...

outbreak of 2001; and on the management and appraisal of clinical academics (following the AlderHey scandal). Once retired, he took on the role of Chair of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (2001-2009, and chaired the government's Teacher Training Agency (TTA) and its successor body the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) from 2004-2010. It aimed to resolve teacher training recruitment and to develop the concept of the teaching assistant. Follett is a non-stipendiary visiting Professor in the Department of Zoology,

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

(2001-2019) teaching physiology to undergraduates. He was a Governor of the

Royal Shakespeare Theatre The Royal Shakespeare Theatre (RST) (originally called the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre) is a grade II* listed 1,040+ seat thrust stage theatre owned by the Royal Shakespeare Company dedicated to the English playwright and poet William Shakespea ...

(2008-2018), and is President of the Stratford Civic Society.

Honours

* Elected to the Royal Society in 1984. * Knighted in 1992. * Awarded 13 honorary

doctorates A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

and other awards.

Personal life

Follet married Deb Booth, a teacher in 1961, who later worked with radio and as the production editor for the journals of the

Society for Endocrinology The Society for Endocrinology is an international membership organisation and registered charity representing scientists, clinicians and nurses who work with hormones. The Society was established in 1946, and currently has approximately 2,500 mem ...

. Their daughter Karen Williams is at BC Women's Hospital in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

and son Richard Follett is on the faculty at the

University of Sussex , mottoeng = Be Still and Know , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £14.4 million (2020) , budget = £319.6 million (2019–20) , chancellor = Sanjeev Bhaskar , vice_chancellor = Sasha Roseneil , ...

."Richard Follett," University of Sussex, accessed June 5, 2020, https://profiles.sussex.ac.uk/p108452-richard-follett

References

External links

Webpage on Prof Brian Follett on ''Bristol University'' Website

Webpage on Prof Brian Follett on ''Training and Development Agency for Schools'' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Follett, Brian 1939 births Living people Knights Bachelor Fellows of the Royal Society Deputy Lieutenants of the West Midlands (county) Vice-Chancellors of the University of Warwick Scientists from Bournemouth Alumni of the University of Bristol English zoologists Presidents of the Association for Science Education