Dr. Edward James

Edward James, PhD has been working in the field of antigen processing and presentation for over 10 years. After completion of his PhD he was awarded a Wellcome Trust Travelling Fellowship for the laboratory of Dr. Nilabh Shastri where he was part of the team that identified and characterized ERAAP in mice. Following completion of the Fellowship Dr. James established his own group in Southampton investigating the role of antigen processing in protective immune responses. This work has led to publication in high impact journals revealing the highly polymorphic nature of ERAP1 in humans and that these polymorphic residues affect the trimming specificity of the aminopeptidase. We have also utilized modulation of ERAP1 function through the use of a small molecule inhibitor to demonstrate the induction of protective anti-tumour immunity. This inhibitor was also able to attenuate the growth of established tumours when administered in vivo, providing a rationale for the use of ERAP1 inhibition in anti-cancer therapies. This enhanced understanding of the role of antigen processing in disease was instrumental in a recent programme grant award (co-investigator). Since establishing his lab Dr. James has supervised two PhD students to completion, one of which continues their work as a post-doc in the laboratory, recently publishing her work in a high impact journal, and the other has recently taken a post-doc position at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis US. Dr. James is currently supervising two students who will complete their training over the next 3 years. He is also part of the co-ordinating team for the Cell Biology and Immunology of Cancer, University of Southampton 4 year integrated PhD programme.