James D. Jamieson

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James Douglas Jamieson (January 22, 1934 – October 22, 2018) was an American cell biologist and a longtime Yale School of Medicine professor. In George Palade’s lab, he helped show how the Golgi apparatus helps move secreted proteins from pancreatic cells, a key discovery in cell biology. He was born in Armstrong, British Columbia, and studied at the University of British Columbia, where he earned his medical degree and, during medical school, took a year to do research that sparked his love of science. He then earned his PhD at Rockefeller University in 1966 and did postdoctoral work with Palade. He became an associate professor at Rockefeller and worked with other famous scientists. In 1973 he moved to Yale with Palade to help start Yale’s Section of Cell Biology, which later became the Department of Cell Biology, where he served as the first chair from 1983 to 1992. He was interim chair again from 2007 to 2008. Jamieson’s research explored how cells build membranes, how secreted proteins are released, and the role of the actin skeleton in endocytosis. He closed his Yale lab in 2001 after more than 25 years and remained a tenured professor until his death. He also led programs and earned awards for both science and teaching, including presidencies of scientific societies and teaching prizes at Yale. He and his wife Cynthia had two daughters and five grandchildren. Jamieson enjoyed sailing on his boat CYLAN II and time at a Lake Sunapee house, and he was a favorite teacher at Yale. He died on October 22, 2018, at age 84.