John Woodland Hastings

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John Woodland Hastings
Born(1927-03-24)March 24, 1927
Salisbury, Maryland[1]
DiedAugust 6, 2014(2014-08-06) (aged 87)
Lexington, Massachusetts
NationalityAmerican
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma materSwarthmore College, 1944-1947; BA 1947 (Navy V-12 medical officers training program)

Princeton University, 1948-1951; M.A. 1950, PhD. 1951

Circadian rhythms
InstitutionsInstructor in Biological Sciences Northwestern University 1953-1957

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry

University of Illinois
1957-1966 Professor of Biology Harvard University, 1966-1986;

Paul C. Mangelsdorf Professor of Natural Sciences Harvard University 1986 - 2014
ThesisOxygen concentration and bioluminescence intensity (1951)
Doctoral advisorE. Newton Harvey
Other academic advisorsWilliam D. McElroy

John Woodland "Woody" Hastings, (March 24, 1927 – August 6, 2014) was a leader in the field of

Cellular Biology at Harvard University.[3][4][5] He published over 400 papers and co-edited three books.[5]

Hastings research on bioluminescence principally focused on

cnidarian luminescence.[9][10]

Early life

Hastings lived in

Lenox School in Lenox, Massachusetts, in 1941 to complete his secondary education and was interested in literature, physics, mathematics, ice hockey and basketball.[11]

Awards and honors

Throughout his career Hastings received numerous awards and honors:

Career

Hastings began his graduate studies at Princeton University in 1948 in the laboratory of E. Newton Harvey, the world leader of luminescence studies at the time, and focused on the role of oxygen in the luminescence of bacteria, fireflies, ostracod crustaceans and fungi. He received his PhD in 1951.[12] He then joined the lab of William D. McElroy, another student of Harvey’s, at Johns Hopkins University where he discovered both the stimulatory effects of coenzyme A and gating control by oxygen of firefly luminescence, and that flavin is a substrate in bacterial luminescence.

In 1953 he joined the faculty in the Department of Biological Sciences at

Lingulodinium polyedrum
(formerly known as Gonyaulax polyedra). A byproduct of this initial research was their discovery of circadian control of the luminescence.

In 1957, Hastings next took a faculty position in the Biochemistry Division of the Chemistry Department at the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign where he continued his focus on dinoflagellate and bacterial luminescence and dinoflagellate circadian rhythms. Hastings joined the faculty of Harvard University as Professor of Biology in 1966. During this period he continued and expanded his studies of circadian rhythms in dinoflagellates and luminescence in bacteria, dinoflagellates and other organisms. He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2003[11] and received the Farrell Prize in Sleep Medicine for his work on circadian rhythms in 2006.[2][13]

For over 50 years he also had an affiliation with the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He was the director of the Physiology Course there from 1962 to 1966, and served as a trustee from 1966 to 1970.

Research Interests[11]

Luminescent Bacteria: Hastings' investigations of luminous bacteria acted as a catalyst for the discoveries of the biochemical mechanisms involved in their light production,

toxins
, which serve to greatly augment their pathogenicity, this is similar to what happens for luciferase proteins. By curtailing their toxin output until the bacterial populations are substantial, these bacteria can generate massive quantities of toxin quickly and thereby swamp the defences of the host.

Luminescent Dinoflagellates: In early 1954 at

heterotrophic, dinoflagellate, Noctiluca scintillans
, has but a single protein, which appears to possess both catalytic and substrate binding properties in a single, rather than separate proteins.

Dinoflagellate Circadian Rhythms: Using Lingulodinium polyedrum as a model, Hastings spearheaded our understanding of the molecular mechanisms involved in control of circadian rhythms,

translational level.[25] This work has now been expanded to other proteins in the cell. On the other hand, short pulses of inhibitors of synthesis of these proteins results in phase shifts of the circadian rhythm, either delays or advances, depending when the pulse is administered.[26] At still another level, protein phosphorylation inhibitors also influence the period of the rhythm.[27]

Other luminescent systems: Early in his career Hastings developed techniques to quantify the level of

Roger Tsien received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
in 2008 for their work on this remarkable molecule.

Death

Hastings died of pulmonary fibrosis on August 6, 2014, at Lexington, Massachusetts.[1]

Publications

Selected publications:

References

  1. ^
    New York Times
    . Retrieved August 3, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c "2006 Farrell Prize recipient J. Woodland Hastings | Division of Sleep Medicine @ Harvard". Sleep.med.harvard.edu. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  3. ^ "Faculty Profile: J. Woodland Hastings, PhD | Division of Sleep Medicine @ Harvard Medical School". Sleep.med.harvard.edu. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  4. ^ Hastings Lab Home page Archived November 26, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b c "Hastings Lab: J. Woodland Hastings". Mcb.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
  6. ^ Hastings, J.W. and Greenberg, E.P. (1999)
  7. ^ Sweeney, B.M. and Hastings, J.W. (1957)
  8. ^ Hastings, J.W. (2007)
  9. ^ a b Morin, J.G. and Hastings, J.W. (1971)
  10. ^ a b Hastings, J.W. and Morin, J.G. (2006)
  11. ^
    PMID 17215362
    .
  12. ProQuest 302031068
    .
  13. ^ Dept of MCB, Harvard U: News and Events - MCB News Archived October 30, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ^ Nealson, K., Platt, T. and Hastings, J.W. (1970)
  15. ^ Hastings, J.W. and Gibson, Q.H. (1963)
  16. ^ Nealson, K., Platt, T. and Hastings, J.W. (1970), Hastings, J.W. and Greenberg, E.P. (1999)
  17. ^ Hastings, J.W. and Sweeney, B.M. (1957), Sweeney, B.M. and Hastings, J.W. (1957)
  18. ^ Fogel, M. and Hastings, J.W. (1972), McMurry, L. and Hastings, J.W. (1972)
  19. ^ DeSa, R.J., Hastings, J.W. and Vatter, A.E. (1963), Nicolas, M-T., Nicolas, G., Johnson, C.H., Bassot, J-M. and Hastings, J.W. (1987)
  20. ^ Krieger, N. and Hastings, J.W. (1968)
  21. ^ Nicolas, M-T., Nicolas, G., Johnson, C.H., Bassot, J-M. and Hastings, J.W. (1987)
  22. ^ Liu, L., Wilson, T. and Hastings, J.W. (2004)
  23. ^ Bode, V.C., DeSa, R.J. and Hastings, J.W. (1963), McMurry, L. and Hastings, J.W. (1972)
  24. ^ Dunlap, J. and Hastings, J.W. (1981)
  25. ^ Morse, D., Milos, P.M., Roux, E., and Hastings, J.W. (1989), Hastings, J.W. (2007)
  26. ^ Taylor, W.R., Dunlap, J.C., Hastings, J.W. (1982)
  27. ^ Comolli, J. and Hastings J. W. (1999)
  28. ^ Hastings, J.W. (1952a, 1952b)
  29. ^ Hastings, J.W., McElroy, W.D. and Coulombre, J. (1953)
  30. ^ McElroy, W.D., Hastings, J.W., Sonnenfeld, V. and Coulombre, J. (1953)
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