Janice studied for her PhD with Professor Sidney Hilton, an international figure in cardiovascular control. She made the first observations by intravital microscopy of responses evoked in skeletal muscle and mesenteric microcirculation by sympathetic stimulation and factors implicated in exercise hyperaemia. In her first post-doctoral post, she made the novel finding that sensory fibre activation induces vasodilatation in limb muscle which is partially attributable to prostaglandins. This led to work with Priscilla Piper, Royal College of Surgeons, using a cascade bioassay system to identify prostaglandins. Janice then joined the MRC Programme group on Central Nervous Control of the Cardiovascular System, led by Hilton and KM (Mike) Spyer. She gained experience of using stereotactic approaches to activate brainstem defence regions which integrate the “alerting” pattern of cardiovascular response to novel, environmental stimuli and showed that peripheral chemoreceptor stimulation can evoke this response. She also contributed to work demonstrating that the pathway from the defence regions synapses in rostral-ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) - now recognised as crucial in regulating arterial pressure.
Following appointment as Lecturer, Janice built her research group, initially focussed on systemic hypoxia. They unravelled the contributions of chemoreceptors, baroreceptors, respiratory reflexes, hormones and local mediators to responses evoked by acute hypoxia in cerebral and muscle vasculature, renal function, and then, to chronic hypoxia in utero and post-natally. A major finding was that the local dilator effect of systemic hypoxia is nitric oxide (NO)-dependent such that adenosine and prostaglandins are released from endothelium and act interdependently. These same mediators are implicated in exercise hyperaemia, but Janice’s group recently demonstrated that in exercising muscle, the local fall in tissue O2 releases prostaglandins from endothelium and muscle fibres, which then induce vasodilatation.
Janice’s parallel work on mechanisms underlying cutaneous vascular responses led to fruitful collaborations with Paul Bacon, Professor of Rheumatology and Professor Graham Serjeant, Sickle Cell Unit, West Indies. Their findings indicated that exaggerated sympathetic vasoconstriction and release of endothelial vasoconstrictors during mild cooling and alerting responses to environmental stimuli may trigger the digital vasospasm and devasting painful crises of bone necrosis which characterise Primary Raynaud’s and Sickle Cell Disease.
Against this background, Janice’s group currently focusses on mechanisms underlying blunted endothelium-dependent dilatation and exaggerated vasoconstriction to environmental stressors in young adults at high risk of cardiovascular disease, including those with hypertensive parents, of South Asian or Black African ethnicity. They are investigating whether dietary or exercise interventions are beneficial.
Janice has supervised >30 PhD students. She enjoys teaching, led cardiovascular modules and pre-clinical Medicine and Dentistry over many years, introducing several innovations to encourage student engagement. She has held several senior leadership positions including Head of Division, College Director of Education, Career Development Lead. She served on Equality & Diversity Committees at College and University levels and is Chair of AWERB. She is also University “Champion” for the AMS Springboard Fellowship scheme.
Janice has served on many Editorial Boards, committees of professional societies, as External Examiner across UK and European Universities and on working groups to develop professional training programmes.
Janice had an international reputation for research into the regulation of the cardiovascular system by the central nervous, reflex mechanisms and local factors released by tissue cells and endothelium. Much of her work focussed on responses evoked by environmental stressors, systemic hypoxia and exercise in cerebral, skeletal muscle and cutaneous circulations in health, but also in disease states including Primary Raynaud’s and Sickle cell disease. Recently, she and her group began to identify early markers of cardiovascular disease in young adults focussing on ethnicity-and sex-related differences and they are testing how dietary and exercise interventions may be beneficial in improving endothelial function.
Janice always enjoyed teaching and has made substantial contributions to direct teaching of cardiovascular physiology and physiology more generally, as well as to the development and management of modules and programmes.
She held several positions of responsibility in the University including Head of the Division of Medical Sciences and was the first Director of Education for the College of Medical & Dental Sciences. She was Chair of AWERB from 2015 along with being the University “Champion” for Springboard Fellowships awarded annually by the Academy of Medical Sciences.