Jamshed Tata was an endocrinologist and developmental biologist whose research revealed much about the cellular and molecular actions of thyroid and other hormones. Critical for vital processes during development and in adulthood, Jamshed was the first to show that thyroid hormone has a direct effect on gene expression.

Born and educated in Bombay, he began his research career in Paris and changed scientific thinking on how thyroid hormone acts on cells to raise the basal metabolic rate. Although the consensus at the time suggested that thyroid hormone interfered with mitochondrial energy production, Jamshed proved that, in fact, it regulated the activity of genes.

Jamshed subsequently began to study metamorphosis in amphibians, a process in which thyroid hormone was known to be involved. Once again, he overturned an earlier theory by showing that as tadpoles develop into frogs, thyroid hormone controls gene expression to stimulate the loss of the tail. In addition, he played a role in demonstrating the multiplicity of RNA polymerase.