![]() | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
John Wilkinson (born 1961) is an English independent scientist specialising primarily in organic chemistry, phytochemistry, pharmacognosy, and synergism in botanical medicines, botanical foods and ecological biochemistry, and who led the first European degree course (Bachelor of Science with Honours) for herbal medicine, at Middlesex University in the United Kingdom in 1994.
Wilkinson was born in Croydon, Surrey, UK, in 1961, from a working-class background. By the time he was 12 years old he had his own private laboratory and still does to this day. He was inspired and encouraged by Dr Phillips, a gifted science teacher at Stanley Technical High School, to pursue his dream of becoming a chemist when he demonstrated that he knew the answers to "A level" chemistry exams and above despite being only 14 years of age. He was also inspired by a chemistry teacher, Mr Neil Miller at Croydon College, and then went on to study Chemistry – by – thesis at Sussex University where he undertook a three-year research programme, remarkably as an undergraduate, on the chemistry of bioluminescence under the supervision of Professor Frank McCapra.
From 1985 to 1987, Wilkinson worked for Wellcome Research Laboratories and Beecham in the area of drug discovery. He was one of the first graduate scientists to be given 20% of his work time to develop his own research ideas.
Wilkinson was awarded a Science and Engineering Research Council (SERC) Instant award which was then later funded by ICI and obtained his PhD from Imperial College London (1987–1990) working with Professor William Motherwell.
Wilkinson was then awarded the prestigious SERC-NATO post-doctoral fellowship to work with the Nobel Prize–winning Professor George Olah in Los Angeles, California, (1991–1992), where he worked on, among other things, natural products chemistry, organic chemistry and Buckminsterfullerenes.
Following his post-doctoral work in the United States, Wilkinson returned to the UK and became a visiting Research Fellow in Phytochemistry at the University of Exeter in 1993, with Professor Stan Roberts, and was also a visiting lecturer at The School of Phytotherapy in East Sussex with the eminent medical herbalist and scientist, Hein Zeylstra (1928–2001). He was also an academic as senior lecturer in phytochemistry and pharmacognosy from 1994 to 2004 developing a new academic discipline and evolving over that time to become an independent scientist. He continues to do research, teaching and act as an adviser on an international basis to universities and companies around the World.
In 1994, Wilkinson programme led the first herbal medicine degree course in Europe, from its beginnings in 1994 at Middlesex University. [1] He was also appointed as a senior lecturer in phytochemistry and pharmacognosy, where he remained until 2004.
During his tenure at Middlesex University, Wilkinson founded the Herbal Research Laboratories in 1996. He became Head of the Phytochemistry Discovery Group and led a team of 10 post-doctoral scientists, research assistants and other staff members. He was also a guest lecturer at Oxford University Medical School where he taught medical undergraduates the scientific aspects of herbal medicines.
He began a natural product research and regulatory consultancy company in 2001. Despite leaving Middlesex University in 2004, he ran the company until 2012, while undertaking research as an independent scientist. He then established "Dr John Wilkinson Consultancy" as a business and also a vehicle for conducting and funding research as an independent scientist. His research funded by individuals, companies and through "crowd funding" focuses on several areas:
Dr Wilkinson obtained the first novel food approval in the European Union for a nutraceutical based on a safe history of use rather than conventional toxicological studies. This approval effectively broke the trade barriers and opened the European Union to new fruits, vegetables and nutraceuticals from developing countries.
Dr Wilkinson continues to work in the area of regulatory approval for health claims on food labels, [2] novel foods, herbal medicines and food supplements in the EU, the US and elsewhere.
Wilkinson has been approached by TV, radio and newspapers for interviews and opinions concerning these types of food and medicinal based products. [3] Wilkinson has published a number of articles during his academic career presented at conferences and trade shows related to natural products. [4] He has also published material for inclusion in a number of books. [5]
Pharmacognosy is the study of crude drugs obtained from medicinal plants, animals, fungi, and other natural sources. The American Society of Pharmacognosy defines pharmacognosy as "the study of the physical, chemical, biochemical, and biological properties of drugs, drug substances, or potential drugs or drug substances of natural origin as well as the search for new drugs from natural sources".
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals.
Phytochemistry is the study of phytochemicals, which are chemicals derived from plants. Phytochemists strive to describe the structures of the large number of secondary metabolites found in plants, the functions of these compounds in human and plant biology, and the biosynthesis of these compounds. Plants synthesize phytochemicals for many reasons, including to protect themselves against insect attacks and plant diseases. The compounds found in plants are of many kinds, but most can be grouped into four major biosynthetic classes: alkaloids, phenylpropanoids, polyketides, and terpenoids.
Dennis Jon McKenna is an American ethnopharmacologist, research pharmacognosist, lecturer and author. He is the brother of well-known psychedelics proponent Terence McKenna and is a founding board member and the director of ethnopharmacology at the Heffter Research Institute, a non-profit organization concerned with the investigation of the potential therapeutic uses of psychedelic medicines.
The lignans are a large group of low molecular weight polyphenols found in plants, particularly seeds, whole grains, and vegetables. The name derives from the Latin word for "wood". Lignans are precursors to phytoestrogens. They may play a role as antifeedants in the defense of seeds and plants against herbivores.
The American Society of Pharmacognosy (ASP) is a scientific society that promotes the growth and development of pharmacognosy through presentation of research achievements and publication of meritorious research.
An independent scientist is a financially independent scientist who pursues scientific study without direct affiliation to a public institution such as a university or government-run research and development body. The expression "gentleman scientist" arose in post-Renaissance Europe, but became less common in the 20th century as government and private funding increased.
Varro Eugene Tyler, of Auburn, Nebraska, was an American professor of pharmacognosy and philatelist who specialized in the study of forged postage stamps and the forgers who created them.
Simon Gibbons is Visiting Professor of Phytochemistry at the Centre for Natural Products Discovery at Liverpool John Moores University.
Palpu Pushpangadan is a former Director of the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute (TBGRI) in Kerala. He is also a former Director of the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow and Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Biotechnology, Thiruvananthapuram. He received the Padmashri Award from the Government of India in 2010.
Curcuma aromatica is a member of the genus Curcuma belonging to the family Zingiberaceae. Botanically close to Curcuma australasica, wild turmeric has been widely used as a cosmetic herbal in South Asia and nearby regions. In Tamil and Malayalam, it is known as Kasthuri Manjal.
Tony Swain (1922–1987) was a chemist known for his definition of a plant polyphenol with Bate-Smith, Haslam and White, which includes specific structural characteristics common to all phenolics having a tanning property. It is referred to as the White–Bate-Smith–Swain–Haslam (WBSSH) definition.
Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary is a scientist in the field of organic chemistry from Pakistan. He is known for his research in various areas relating to natural product chemistry. He has more than 800 research publications. In 2015 he was recognised as the second most productive scientist in Pakistan.
Brahma Singh is an Indian Horticultural scientist, known for his expertise on protected cultivation and his efforts in developing agro-technologies for the high altitude areas of the Himalayan region of Leh and for identifying and popularizing the fruit crops of seabuckthorn and Indian mulberry (Noni). The Government of India honoured him, in 2014, by awarding him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of science and technology.
Norman Robert Farnsworth was a pharmacognosist, professor, and author.
Vishweshwaraiah Prakash is an Indian structural biologist, food technologist and a former director-general designate of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). He is a former director of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore and was involved with the International Union of Food Science and Technology as the chairman of its International Academy during 2008-10. He received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize, the highest Indian award in the science and technology category in 1996. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2004,
Taiwo Olayemi Elufioye is a Nigerian pharmacologist and researcher. Elufioye works as a professor at the University of Ibadan in the department of pharmacognosy. Elufioye is also a Fulbright Scholar at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she is investigating drugs for neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr. Henry Isaac Clore Lowe OJ OD is a Jamaican scientist, philanthropist and businessperson.His career began in academia where he worked at College of Art, Science, and Technology (CAST) for 16 years, before entering public life by joining the Ministry of Energy. He now owns and manages a variety of businesses in the health industry.
Siegfried Huneck was a German chemist and lichenologist. Much of his scientific career was hampered by the political situation in the former German Democratic Republic. He rejected pursuing a career in academia, and instead ended up working at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, a public research institute, from 1969 until his retirement in 1993. Despite his relative isolation and restricted freedoms in East Germany, Huneck had numerous professional contacts both in Germany and abroad, and was a highly published scholar. Many of his more than 400 scientific publications dealt with the chemistry of lichen products. He was awarded the Acharius Medal for lifetime achievements in lichenology in 1996.
Christian Leuckert was a lichen taxonomist who applied the diversity of secondary metabolites within lichens as useful taxonomic criteria. He was Director of the Institute of Plant Systematics and Plant Geography at the Free University of Berlin from the 1970s until 1995.