James is a Military Clinician Scientist (Ministry of Defence/University of Birmingham) and Consultant in Neurology and Rehabilitation (University Hospitals Birmingham - UHB/Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre), internationally recognised for his expertise in neurotrauma. He leads the UK Military Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Service and is Chief Investigator of the mTBI Predict Consortium; a prospective, multi-centre study focused on improving diagnosis and management of mild TBI with research integrating clinical data, biomarkers, and advanced imaging to predict long-term outcomes to enhance the care for both military personnel and civilians. James also leads the UK MEGaBlast study, which aims to develop a mobile Magnetoencephalography (MEG) platform to understand the impact of blast exposure on brain health; this research combines exposure measurements, cognitive performance testing, blood biomarkers, and detailed MEG brain scanning to better understand the neurological effects in key military service personnel.
James completed his medical training in at Imperial College London, intercalating in neuroscience. Following foundation training at the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine (UHB), he undertook Officer Training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and served as a Regimental Medical Officer, earning membership of the Royal College of Physicians at this time. During a formative operational tour in Afghanistan (2011-12), he delivered primary, pre-hospital, and in-hospital trauma care. On his return, James completed Core Medical Training (West Midlands Deanery) before specialising in neurology and rehabilitation and become a consultant in 2023.
His research career began with an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship, and in 2016 he secured MoD PhD funding to lead the IIH Pressure Trial, which demonstrated the effectiveness of GLP-1 receptor agonists in treating Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH), also playing a leading role in the IIH Drug and IIH Weight trials. From 2019 he was a founding member of the mTBI Predict Consortium, gaining funding through the MoD and DoD to open and sustain the consortium, he assumed leadership of the consortium in early 2025.