James is internationally recognised as having expertise in exercise physiology or more specifically, exercise immunology. His research explores the impact lifestyle has on mechanisms of ageing and chronic disease. The projects James leads span two themes: (1) overweight/obesity and immune system ageing – focussing on adipose tissue immunology; and (2) physical activity and cancer immunology – focussing on factors that influence treatment outcomes, primarily in breast cancer, but also lung cancer and forms of blood cancer.

James became employed as an Associate Professor in the School of Sport, Exercise and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Birmingham in 2022. James started his independent academic career and established his research as an Assistant Professor in the Department for Health at the University of Bath in 2013 and was promoted to Associate Professor in 2018. Prior to his independent academic career, James undertook a PhD between 2007-2010 at the University of Birmingham. His PhD research covered topics related to exercise, ageing and immune system functioning. Following his PhD, James remained at the University of Birmingham to undertake three years of post-doctoral training in cancer immunology.