Professor James Ware, a group head at the MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS), has achieved an Imperial professorship. 

James Ware, who leads the Cardiovascular Genomics and Precision Medicine group at the LMS, has been promoted to the highest academic grade for his outstanding contributions to science. 

As well as his role at the LMS, James is now a Professor of Cardiovascular and Genomic Medicine at Imperial College London. He is also an Honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals. His research group spans the National Heart & Lung Institute, the Royal Brompton Cardiovascular Research Centre, and the LMS, and is supported by the Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust, the Wellcome Trust, the Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation, the National Institute for Health Research, and Cardiomyopathy UK. He also has a visiting position at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. 

“I’m delighted to have been nominated, and honoured to receive this appointment. Imperial and the MRC LMS provide a fantastic environment to pursue my research programme, supported and constructively challenged by a critical mass of talented and enthusiastic colleagues. And I really can’t stress enough that science is a team pursuit – I am indebted to the imaginative and committed trainees and staff scientists in my research group, and to my collaborators at LMS and Imperial, at our local NHS partner hospitals, across the UK, and across the globe. This promotion reflects the generosity and collegiality of many friends and colleagues,” said James. 

“Congratulations to James on his promotion. This is excellent recognition for his world-leading research into the genetic causes of cardiac disease,” said Professor Dominic Withers, Interim Director at the LMS. 

James’ research aims to understand the genetic basis of cardiovascular disease in order to reveal disease mechanisms, thereby identifying new therapeutic targets, and to interpret genomic information for application in patient care. James was a lead author in a recent study that identified genetic variants associated with myocarditis – a disease estimated to be responsible for up to 12% of sudden cardiac deaths.