Dr James A. Roberts BSc, MRes, PhD

Department of Biomedical Sciences
Post-doctoral Research Fellow

Contact details

Email: j.roberts.6@bham.ac.uk

Address: Robert Aitken Institute for Clinical Research
Department of Biomedical Sciences
College of Medicine and Health
University of Birmingham
B15 2TT

Dr James Roberts is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow within the Brain Health and Injury Group in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. His research focuses on neurodegeneration, brain health, biomarker discovery and ophthalmology, with expertise spanning therapeutic development, advanced drug delivery technologies and translational neuroscience. Through interdisciplinary collaborations with academic, clinical and industry partners, his work aims to accelerate the development of innovative treatments that deliver meaningful patient benefit.

His current research investigates diseases affecting the eye and brain, including age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and traumatic brain injury. Working across preclinical and clinical research programmes, he studies disease mechanisms, evaluates emerging therapies and develops biomarkers to support earlier diagnosis, improved stratification and more effective treatment of neurological and neurodegenerative disorders.

Alongside his ophthalmology and neurodegeneration research, Dr Roberts has a particular interest in defence medicine and military brain health, including the biological consequences of traumatic brain injury and the development of strategies to improve long-term neurological outcomes in service personnel and veterans.

He is committed to translating research into real-world impact through innovation, commercialisation, patient and public involvement, and the training and mentorship of future biomedical scientists.

Qualifications

PhD in Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 2024
MRes in Cellular and Molecular Physiology, 2020
BSc in Pharmacology, 2019

Biography

Dr James Roberts joined the Brain Health and Injury Group at the University of Birmingham in 2024 after completing his PhD at the University of Liverpool, where he investigated the role of antioxidant pathways in mitigating drug-induced toxicity. He previously completed an MRes in Cellular and Molecular Physiology at the University of Liverpool and a BSc in Pharmacology at the University of Leeds, including a 12-month industrial placement within the Biopharmaceutical Process Research group at GlaxoSmithKline, Stevenage.

As a postdoctoral researcher, Dr Roberts contributes to a diverse portfolio of projects spanning ophthalmology, neuroscience, brain health and translational medicine. His research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underpinning neurodegenerative diseases and developing innovative therapeutic strategies for disorders affecting the eye and brain.

Specifically, his work encompasses age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and brain injury within civilian and military contexts, with particular interests in therapeutic development, biomarker discovery and advanced drug delivery technologies. He works across in vitro, ex vivo and in vivo models and supports the translation of emerging therapies from laboratory research towards clinical application through collaborations with academic, clinical and industry partners.

Dr Roberts also contributes to international studies investigating brain injury and neurological recovery, underpinning a growing interest in defence medicine and military brain health. Alongside his research activities, he teaches on Biomedical Sciences programmes and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate research projects.

Research

Neurodegeneration and neuroprotection across the eye-brain axis
Age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and retinal disease
Therapeutic development and drug repurposing for neurological disorders
Advanced ocular and central nervous system drug delivery technologies
Biomarker discovery for neurodegenerative disease and brain injury
Oxidative stress, inflammation and extracellular matrix biology in disease
Translational neuroscience and experimental medicine
Defence medicine and military brain health
Research translation, innovation and commercialisation
Patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE)

Publications

Recent publications

Article

Hewitt, BJ, Roberts, L, Roberts, JA, Fulton, D, Hill, LJ, Kitchen, P, Bill, RM & Botfield, HF 2026, 'Adult organotypic brain slice cultures recapitulate extracellular matrix remodeling in hemorrhagic stroke', Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, vol. 19, 1722240. https://doi.org/10.3389/fncel.2025.1722240

Roberts, JA, Batie, M, Ponsford, AH, Poh, J, Hewitt, BJ, Botfield, HF, Hill, LJ, Sanderson, CM, Rocha, S & Sharma, P 2026, 'NRF2 upregulation by CDDO-Me protects AC16 human cardiomyocytes against doxorubicin-induced toxicity', Biomedicine and Pharmacotherapy, vol. 194, 118878. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopha.2025.118878

Palin, TW, Corbett, J, Hill, LJ, Woods, DR, Gould, AAM, Wainwright, B, Roberts, JA, Thomas, CN, Snape, D, House, C, Tayari, O, Elsworthy, RJ, Mitchell, JL, Roberts, AJ, O'Hara, JP & Stacey, MJ 2026, 'Thermoregulatory and plasma neurobiomarker responses to heat tolerance assessment in exertional heat illness and matched controls', Experimental Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1113/EP093598

Roberts, PA, Thomas, CN, Bellamy Plaice, G, Roberts, JA, Jones, M-C, Andrews, JW & Hill, LJ 2025, 'Mathematical Models of Topically and Intravitreally Applied Ranibizumab', Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science (IOVS), vol. 66, no. 11, 45. https://doi.org/10.1167/iovs.66.11.45

Brennan, S, Chen, S, Makwana, S, Esposito, S, McGuinness, LR, Alnaimi, AIM, Sims, MW, Patel, M, Aziz, Q, Ojake, L, Roberts, JA, Sharma, P, Lodwick, D, Tinker, A, Barrett-Jolley, R, Dart, C & Rainbow, RD 2024, 'Identification and characterisation of functional K_ir6.1-containing ATP-sensitive potassium channels in the cardiac ventricular sarcolemmal membrane', British Journal of Pharmacology, vol. 181, no. 18, pp. 3380-3400. https://doi.org/10.1111/bph.16390

Preprint

Hewitt, BJ, Garcia Bonilla, M, McAllister II, JP, Pahuja, S, Pellowe, GA, Newman, M, Roberts, L, Roberts, JA, Kitchen, P, Bill, RM, Hill, LJ & Botfield, HF 2026 'Cross-omics profiling reveals cortical neuronal dysfunction following neonatal intraventricular haemorrhage that is attenuated by decorin treatment' bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.09.07.749813

Hewitt, BJ, Roberts, L, Roberts, JA, Fulton, D, Hill, L, Kitchen, P, Bill, RM & Botfield, H 2025 'Adult organotypic brain slice cultures recapitulate extracellular matrix remodelling in haemorrhagic stroke' bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.15.665021

Roberts, JA, Batie, M, Ponsford, AH, Poh, J, Hewitt, BJ, Botfield, HF, Hill, LJ, Sanderson, CM, Rocha, S & Sharma, P 2025 'NRF2 upregulation by CDDO-Me protects AC16 human cardiomyocytes against doxorubicin-induced toxicity.' bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.09.10.675420

Review article

Lyons, HS, Hubbard, JC, Thomas, CN, Roberts, JA, Mugo, CW, Bellamy Plaice, G, Grech, O, Prosser, S, Strom, A, Lucas, SJE, Downie, LE, Gill, JM, Mitchell, JL, Sinclair, AJ, Hill, LJ & UK mTBI Predict Consortium 2026, 'Biofluid-based predictors of post-concussion symptoms: a narrative review of mild traumatic brain injury biomarkers', Brain Communications, vol. 8, no. 1, fcaf501. https://doi.org/10.1093/braincomms/fcaf501

Anwar, F, Grech, O, Mugo, CM, Roberts, JA, Hubbard, JC, Thomas, CN, Sinclair, AJ & Hill, LJ 2025, 'A systematic review of the causes and consequences of spreading depolarization in neuroinflammation; implications for neurovascular disorders', Journal of Neuroinflammation, vol. 22, no. 1, 178. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12974-025-03503-6

Roberts, JA, Rainbow, RD & Sharma, P 2023, 'Mitigation of Cardiovascular Disease and Toxicity through NRF2 Signalling', International Journal of Molecular Sciences, vol. 24, no. 7, 6723. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24076723

View all publications in research portal