James leads the Cardiovascular Genomics and Precision Medicine Group at the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences (LMS). His research brings together human genetics, molecular cardiology and precision medicine to understand the impact of genetic variation on the heart and circulation, and to use genome information to improve patient care. His work has helped define the genetic basis of cardiomyopathies and arrhythmia syndromes, improving how genetic variants are interpreted, and accelerating the integration of whole-genome sequencing, rare variant discovery and polygenic risk into routine cardiovascular care. 

Alongside his LMS role, he is Professor of Cardiovascular and Genomic Medicine at Imperial College London’s National Heart and Lung Institute. He also serves as an honorary Consultant Cardiologist at Royal Brompton and Hammersmith Hospitals, where he specialises in the diagnosis and management of inherited cardiac conditions. 

James is among 60 exceptional biomedical and health scientists the Academy of Medical Sciences has elected to its prestigious Fellowship, it has been announced today. The latest cohort of Fellows have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to advancing medical science, through discovery research, translational work and the application of scientific knowledge in ways that deliver tangible benefits for patients and the wider public. 

The Fellows elected this year join an esteemed Fellowship of over 1,500 researchers who are at the heart of the Academy’s work to nurture scientific talent and shape research and health policy in the UK and worldwide. 

Professor James Ware said: “I am delighted and honoured to have been elected as a Fellow.  The fellowship comprises many individuals whom I admire and respect professionally and personally, and it is a great privilege to be elected to join them and work with them.  I am also very mindful that impactful medical science is team science, and this distinction recognises the contributions of dozens of exceptionally talented and dedicated team members and collaborators.

Importantly, as one of the national academies, the Academy of Medical Sciences is a working organisation with a mission to create an open and progressive research sector and improve health in the UK and beyond.  I look forward to working with colleagues to support academic career development opportunities, to create a sustainable research environment that allows a diversity of researchers to flourish, and to advance health and improve lives.”

The new Fellows will be formally admitted to the Academy at a ceremony on Tuesday 30 June.