Professor Alison J. Douglas (1961–2012)

Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 2012, 24, 975–976 ª 2012 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology ª 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

OBITUARY

Professor Alison J. Douglas (1961–2012)

Professor Alison Jane Douglas, a leading member of the Neuroendocrinology Group in Edinburgh, died of breast cancer on the 9th May, 2012, at the age of 50. Alison was born and raised in Northern Ireland. She graduated from Queen’s University Belfast with a BSc (Hons) in Physiology in 1983 and that is also where she earned her PhD in 1986 under the supervision of David Goldspink. Her PhD research focused on uterine physiology where she investigated the mechanisms of adaptive growth of the myometrium (1), in addition to studies of skeletal muscle physiology in the context of low gravity (published under her maiden name of A J Morton). Alison moved to Scotland in 1986 to work with Geoffrey Walsh for 3 years as a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Physiology at the University of Edinburgh. She remained at the University of Edinburgh for the rest of her career joining John Russell’s research group as a postdoctoral research fellow on a BBSRC Link Grant with John Bicknell and Gareth Leng at the Babraham Institute. In 1995, Alison was appointed as a temporary Lecturer, and soon after, in 1999, she was appointed to a full Lectureship. She was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2003, to a Reader in 2008, and just last year to a Personal Chair in Reproductive Neuroendocrinology. Over the past 20 years, Alison focused on understanding the importance and control of oxytocin neurones in pregnancy, parturition and lactation (2,3). She published over 80 articles in this field, and has contributed to our understanding of the role of oxytocin in parturition and in multiple behaviours essential to successful reproduction, including maternal and sexual behaviour, appetite and anxiety (4–10). Indeed, one of her last publications (in this Journal this year) was connecting two of these, sexual behaviour and appetite (11). Amongst her many contributions was the demonstration that oxytocin neurones adapt to changes in the internal and external environment (e.g. pregnancy, hunger or stress) to facilitate appropriate brain responses that optimise body reactions or prevent further adverse physiological consequences (12). Alison showed that in late pregnancy endogenous opioids inhibit oxytocin neurones to restrain premature oxytocin secretion

until parturition when there is a high demand for it (13) and that endogenous opioids also constrain the response of oxytocin neurones to stress during pregnancy (14). Later she demonstrated that the central noradrenergic system also contributed to this reduced responsiveness of the hypothamic pituitary adrenal axis in pregnancy (15). In her research career Alison became a leading international authority on the neuroendocrine adaptations in pregnancy that lead to successful delivery (16,17). In the last few years Alison’s research had gone full circle with her focus again back on the uterus and the events that contribute to inappropriate preterm birth. With integrated studies on neuronal activation and secretion mechanisms, she investigated the role of stress and immune mechanisms in spontaneous abortion in addition to the contribution of uterine signals feeding back to the hypothalamus during parturition. Alison had built an extensive network of national and international friendships and collaborations including those in Germany, Poland, Spain, Japan and New Zealand. She co-organised several conferences including the Physiological Society Focused meeting, the British Neuroendocrine Society and the Parental Brain meetings here in Edinburgh. She was an active member of several societies and continued as Chair of the British Society for Neuroendocrinology in 2011–2012 despite her illness. In addition, she was Associate Editor for the journals Neuroendocrinology and Reproduction Fertility and Development and in her time she served as a guest editor for many other journals. The Neuroendocrinology Group here in Edinburgh cherished her as a colleague. Alison was always cheerful, positive, caring and supportive, an attribute sometimes hard to find in the academic environment. Alison loved neuroendocrinology and had a passion for teaching neuroendocrinogy. She shared her enthusiasm with the many undergraduate and graduate students she has taught and mentored and she was always keen to promote and support younger scientists, particularly women, at early stages of their careers. During her illness, and to the end of her life, Alison showed an amazingly positive attitude and remarkable courage. Alison’s death represents a tremendous loss for us and for all those who had the good fortune to know her well. Indeed, we have lost not only a great friend but a very good scientist and patient and committed student mentor as well. Simone L. Meddle* and Mike Ludwig  *The Roslin Institute, The Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies, The University of Edinburgh, Easter Bush, Midlothian, UK.   The Centre for Integrative Physiology, The School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, George Square, Edinburgh, UK.

References 1 Morton AJ, Goldspink DF. Changes in protein turnover in rat uterus during pregnancy. Am J Physiol 1986; 250: E114–E120. 2 Douglas AJ, Johnstone LE, Leng G. Neuroendocrine mechanisms of change in food intake during pregnancy: a potential role for brain oxytocin. Physiol Behav 2007; 91: 352–365. 3 Russell JA, Leng G, Douglas AJ. The magnocellular oxytocin system, the fount of maternity: adaptations in pregnancy. Front Neuroendocrinol 2003; 24: 27–61. 4 Antonijevic IA, Russell JA, Bicknell RJ, Leng G, Douglas AJ. Effect of progesterone on the activation of neurones of the supraoptic nucleus during parturition. J Reprod Fertil 2000; 120: 367–376. 5 Brunton PJ, Russell JA, Douglas AJ. Adaptive responses of the maternal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis during pregnancy and lactation. J Neuroendocrinol 2008; 20: 764–776.

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6 Douglas AJ, Brunton PJ, Bosch OJ, Russell JA, Neumann ID. Neuroendocrine responses to stress in mice: hyporesponsiveness in pregnancy and parturition. Endocrinology 2003; 144: 5268–5276. 7 Douglas AJ. Mother-offspring dialogue in early pregnancy: impact of adverse environment on pregnancy maintenance and neurobiology. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2011; 35: 1167–1177. 8 Leng G, Meddle SL, Douglas AJ. Oxytocin and the maternal brain. Curr Opin Pharmacol 2008; 8: 731–734. 9 Meddle SL, Bishop VR, Gkoumassi E, van Leeuwen FW, Douglas AJ. Dynamic changes in oxytocin receptor expression and activation at parturition in the rat brain. Endocrinology 2007; 148: 5095– 5104. 10 Tobin VA, Leng G, Ludwig M, Douglas AJ. Increased sensitivity of monoamine release in the supraoptic nucleus in late pregnancy: regionand stimulus-dependent responses. J Neuroendocrinol 2010; 22: 430– 437. 11 Caquineau C, Leng G, Douglas AJ. Sexual behaviour and neuronal activation in the vomeronasal pathway and hypothalamus of food-deprived male rats. J Neuroendocrinol 2012; 24: 712–723.

ª 2012 The Authors. Journal of Neuroendocrinology ª 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

12 Parker VJ, Menzies JR, Douglas AJ. Differential changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and prolactin responses to stress in early pregnant mice. J Neuroendocrinol 2011; 23: 1066–1078. 13 Douglas AJ, Neumann I, Meeren HK, Leng G, Johnstone LE, Munro G, Russell JA. Central endogenous opioid inhibition of supraoptic oxytocin neurons in pregnant rats. J Neurosci 1995; 15: 5049–5057. 14 Douglas AJ, Johnstone HA, Wigger A, Landgraf R, Russell JA, Neumann ID. The role of endogenous opioids in neurohypophysial and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis hormone secretory responses to stress in pregnant rats. J Endocrinol 1998; 158: 285–293. 15 Douglas AJ, Meddle SL, Toschi N, Bosch OJ, Neumann ID. Reduced activity of the noradrenergic system in the paraventricular nucleus at the end of pregnancy: implications for stress hyporesponsiveness. J Neuroendocrinol 2005; 17: 40–48. 16 Douglas AJ. Preterm labour: tsunami waves? J Neuroendocrinol 2010; 22: 1040–1041. 17 Douglas AJ. Baby on board: do responses to stress in the maternal brain mediate adverse pregnancy outcome? Front Neuroendocrinol 2010; 31: 359–376.

Journal of Neuroendocrinology, 2012, 24, 975–976