James Shields (academic)

James Shields
Born	(1918-11-21)21 November 1918 Edinburgh, Scotland
Died	20 June 1978(1978-06-20) (aged 59) London, England
Nationality	Scottish
Education	Merton College, Oxford London School of Economics
Known for	Schizophrenia research Twin studies
Spouse	Elizabeth Shields
Children	Julia (now Julia Donaldson, children's writer) and Mary (now Mary Moore)
Scientific career
Fields	Psychiatric genetics
Institutions	Maudsley Hospital

James Shields (21 November 1918 – 20 June 1978) was a Scottish psychiatric geneticist and twin researcher.[1] In the 1960s, he worked with Irving Gottesman on a twin study of schizophrenia at the Medical Research Council Psychiatric Genetics Unit at Maudsley Hospital in London, England. This study, known as the Maudsley twin study, is now considered a landmark in the field.[2] He had previously begun working for Eliot Slater at Maudsley after serving in the United Kingdom's Royal Artillery during World War II.[3] He was a fellow of the Eugenics Society and the International Society for Twin Studies.[1] After Shields died in 1978, Gottesman founded the annual James Shields Award for Lifetime Contributions to Twin Research in his honor.[4]

References

1. Gottesman, I. I. (1 January 1979). "In memoriam James Shields 1918–1978". Behavior Genetics. 9 (1): 1–6. doi:10.1007/BF01067117. ISSN 1573-3297. PMID 371601. S2CID 12012137.
2. "Remembering Irving I. Gottesman, a Pioneer in Behavior Genetics". APS Observer. 30 (4). 31 March 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
3. "Irving Gottesman, Retired Psychology Professor, Awarded for Groundbreaking Research". UVA Today. 30 November 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
4. Segal, Nancy L. (August 2018). "Symposium in Honor of Irving I. Gottesman (December 29, 1930–June 29, 2016)". Twin Research and Human Genetics. 21 (4): 281–284. doi:10.1017/thg.2018.29. ISSN 1832-4274. PMID 30027861. S2CID 51702077.