Projects per year
Personal profile
Research Statement
I am a Clinical Professor / Consultant Pathologist specialising in Molecular Diagnostics. In 2010 I led the development of Northern Ireland's first cancer focused Biobank (www.nibiobank.org) to ensure easier access to high quality, clinically annotated samples for researchers which are essential for translational research. As Director of the Northern Ireland Biobank (NIB) I have secured more than £3.5 million in direct funding to expand the biobank’s infrastructure across Northern Ireland. Currently NIB supports not only cancer research but also research into other diseases such as neurodegenerative disease, respiratory disease, endocrinology and infectious diseases, including COVID-19. NIB has rapidly become an internationally recognised biomedical resource which enables researchers worldwide to gain quicker, regulated access to quality assured collections of tissue, blood and other biological samples linked with reliable clinical and pathological data sets. To date, NIB has helped researchers to leverage more than £20 million in competitive grant funding.
I am a co-Director of the new Precision Medicine Centre of Excellence (PMC), a clinically accredited laboratory established in the Patrick G Johnston Centre for Cancer Research to deliver integrated high-throughput genomics, digital pathology and big data analytics (https://www.qub.ac.uk/research-centres/PMC). I co-lead the tissue hybridisation and digital pathology division. The PMC hosts the NHS Northern Ireland Regional Molecular Diagnostic Service for Solid Tumours in which I have key responsibilities for Breast and Head/Neck molecular testing. Currently, I co-lead Queen’s contribution to the Innovate UK funded PathLAKE consortium (https://www.pathlake.org), a Centre of Excellence in Digital Pathology established to drive forward innovation in cellular and molecular pathology across the UK. Previously I co-led a Cancer Research UK Accelerator Programme in Molecular Digital Pathology which funded a collaborative network of academics from across the UK to implement novel digital pathology solutions to analyse the immune contexture of tumours.
Research Interests
My current research is centred on using high quality human biosamples to identify and validate molecular targets as biomarkers for disease prediction, prognosis and response to therapy. In particular, I use novel approaches in molecular digital pathology, including application of multiplex immunofluorescence, to identify and validate novel biomarkers in the tumour microenvironment. One of my main interests is the development of new strategies to detect early development of disease and disease recurrence particularly for malignant tumours of the upper aero-digestive tract. Many of the projects I’m involved with utilise the open source software image analysis tool 'QuPath' https://qupath.github.io/ , which is a global phenomenon in part developed at Queen's supported by our Cancer Research UK Accelerator programme.
I make significant contributions to ongoing national and international research initiatives. I am a member of the National Cancer Research Institute's (NCRI) Head and Neck Clinical Study Group (H&N CSG), the international EPIC-Oropharyngeal Cancer consortium and formerly the NCRI Cellular/Molecular Pathology initiative (CM-PATH). I lead Northern Ireland's involvement in the UK-wide Cancer UK Stratified Medicines Programme 2 on behalf of Belfast's Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre. I also delivered the work package to establish the Belfast Tissue Collections for the Movember funded FASTMAN study.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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- 1 Similar Profiles
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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R1300CNR: Future Medicines Institute
Scott, C. (PI), Bruce, I. (CoI), Burden, R. (CoI), Burrows, J. (CoI), Collins, B. (CoI), Harrison, T. (CoI), James, J. (CoI), Kennedy, R. (CoI), Lawler, M. (CoI), Longley, D. (CoI), Maguire, S. (CoI), Malinova, D. (CoI), Maule, A. (CoI), McCloskey, K. (CoI), McDade, S. (CoI), Salto-Tellez, M. (CoI), Savage, K. (CoI), Stitt, A. (CoI) & Williams, R. (CoI)
15/10/2024 → …
Project: Research
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R3005CNR: Establishing a Precision Medicine Catapult Centre of Excellence in Northern Ireland
Salto-Tellez, M. (PI), Gonzalez de Castro, D. (CoI), James, J. (CoI), Kennedy, R. (CoI), McArt, D. (CoI) & Waugh, D. (CoI)
01/12/2017 → …
Project: Research
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R2111CNR: Research Resource – A national digital pathology and image analysis platform for solid tumours, complemented by a comprehensive Clinical Fellowship programme in Molecular Pathology.
Salto-Tellez, M. (PI), James, J. (CoI), Kennedy, R. (CoI), Lawler, M. (CoI) & Waugh, D. (CoI)
09/06/2015 → …
Project: Research
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R1140CNR: Digital Innovation Hub Programme - DATA CAN
Lawler, M. (PI), Gavin, A. (CoI), James, J. (CoI) & Salto-Tellez, M. (CoI)
02/01/2020 → 31/08/2022
Project: Research
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R4867CNR: PathLEAD - Pathology Image Data Lake for Education, Analytics and Discovery
Salto-Tellez, M. (PI) & James, J. (CoI)
18/07/2019 → 02/09/2022
Project: Research
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A fully automated and explainable algorithm for predicting malignant transformation in oral epithelial dysplasia
Shephard, A. J., Bashir, R. M. S., Mahmood, H., Jahanifar, M., Minhas, F., Raza, S. E. A., McCombe, K. D., Craig, S. G., James, J., Brooks, J., Nankivell, P., Mehanna, H., Khurram, S. A. & Rajpoot, N. M., 28 Jun 2024, In: npj Precision Oncology. 8, 12 p., 137.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus)12 Downloads (Pure) -
Analysis of SARS-CoV-2 antibody seroprevalence in Northern Ireland during 2020-2021
Greene, M. K., Smyth, P., English, A., McLaughlin, J., Bucholc, M., Bailie, J., McCarroll, J., McDonnell, M., Watt, A., Barnes, G., Lynch, M., Duffin, K., Duffy, G., Lewis, C., James, J., Stitt, A. W., Ford, T., O'Kane, M., Rai, T. S. & Bjourson, A. J. & 4 others, , 30 Jan 2024, In: Heliyon. 10, 2, 11 p., e24184.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile47 Downloads (Pure) -
Assessment of Ki-67 and mitoses in pituitary neuroendocrine tumours: consistency counts
Loughrey, P. B., Greene, C., McCombe, K. D., Abdullahi Sidi, F., McQuaid, S., Cooke, S., Hunter, S. J., Herron, B., Korbonits, M., Craig, S. G. & James, J. A., 15 Jul 2024, (Early online date) In: Brain Pathology. 5 p., e13285.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile56 Downloads (Pure) -
Encrypted federated learning for secure decentralized collaboration in cancer image analysis
Truhn, D., Arasteh, S. T., Saldanha, O. L., Müller-Franzes, G., Khader, F., Quirke, P., West, N. P., Gray, R., Hutchins, G. G. A., James, J. A., Loughrey, M. B., Salto-Tellez, M., Brenner, H., Brobeil, A., Yuan, T., Chang-Claude, J., Hoffmeister, M., Foersch, S., Han, T. & Keil, S. & 6 others, , Feb 2024, In: Medical Image Analysis. 92, 103059.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile13 Citations (Scopus)76 Downloads (Pure) -
Immune microenvironment modulation following neoadjuvant therapy for oesophageal adenocarcinoma: a translational analysis of the DEBIOC clinical trial
Scanlon, E., Lavery, A., Albraikat, M., Stevenson, L., Kennedy, C., Byrne, R., Walker, A., Mullan-Young, B., McManus, D. T., Virdee, P. S., Elhussein, L., Turbitt, J., Collinson, D., Miedzybrodzka, Z., Van Schaeybroeck, S., McQuaid, S., James, J. A., Craig, S. G., Blayney, J. K. & Petty, R. D. & 6 others, , Nov 2024, In: ESMO Open. 9, 11, 14 p., 103930.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Open AccessFile5 Downloads (Pure)
Prizes
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CAST DfE PhD Studentship Grant
Loughrey, B. (Recipient), James, J. (Recipient), McKnight, A. J. (Recipient) & Miskelly, J. (Recipient), 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Irish Endocrine Society Clinical Science Award - €15,000
Loughrey, B. (Recipient), Hunter, S. (Recipient) & James, J. (Recipient), 12 Nov 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Primary Fellowship Medal, Faculty of Dental Surgery
James, J. (Recipient), 1996
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Queen's University Belfast: Excellence in Teaching by a Team Award
James, J. (Recipient), Craig, S. (Recipient), Gault, R. (Recipient) & McCombe, K. (Recipient), 07 Jun 2022
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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Queen's University Belfast: Innovation in Teaching Fund - £1400
Craig, S. (Recipient), James, J. (Recipient), Lewis, C. (Recipient), Gault, R. (Recipient) & Collins, M. (Recipient), 19 Oct 2022
Prize: Other distinction
Activities
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Behnoush Abedi-Ardekani
Craig, S. (Host), James, J. (Host), Salto-Tellez, M. (Host), McCombe, K. (Host), Albraikat, M. (Host), Graham, L. (Host), Maxwell, P. (Host), Gonzalez de Castro, D. (Host) & Lewis, C. (Host)
14 Sept 2023 → 15 Sept 2023Activity: Hosting a visitor types › Hosting an academic visitor
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Queen's University Belfast: EEECS Impact Award 2023
Pan, J. (Recipient), Routley, S. (Recipient), Morgan, J. (Recipient), Chang, Z. (Recipient), Craig, S. (Supervisor), James, J. (Supervisor), Lewis, C. (Supervisor), Gault, R. (Supervisor) & Collins, M. (Supervisor)
03 Jul 2023Activity: Other activity types › Other
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Guillermo Garcia Porrero
Craig, S. (Host), James, J. (Host) & Salto-Tellez, M. (Host)
05 Jun 2023 → 18 Aug 2023Activity: Hosting a visitor types › Hosting an academic visitor
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Haris Hussain Qurashi
Craig, S. (Host), James, J. (Host) & Albraikat, M. (Host)
05 Jun 2023 → 28 Jul 2023Activity: Hosting a visitor types › Hosting an academic visitor
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Best abstract and oral presentation at International Spatial Biology Congress 2022
McCombe, K. (Recipient), James, J. (Supervisor), Craig, S. (Supervisor) & Gault, R. (Supervisor)
21 Sept 2022Activity: Other activity types › Other
Press/Media
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PGJCCR Cancer Digest: Digital Pathology
Branco, C., Loughrey, M., Fisher, N., Craig, S., McGill, K., Dunne, P., Allott, E., Huang, L., Walls, G., Small, D., Morelli, R., Salto-Tellez, M., James, J., Maxwell, P. & Makhlouf, Y.
20/07/2022
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Public Engagement Activities
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Cancers, Volume 13 Issue 1, Cover Story
Abdullahi Sidi, F., Bingham, V., Craig, S., McQuaid, S., James, J., Humphries, M. & Salto-Tellez, M.
01/01/2021
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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Molecular Oncology Research Article Highlights 2020, Featured Article
Viratham Pulsawatdi, A., Craig, S., Bingham, V., McCombe, K., Humphries, M., Senevirathne, S., Richman, S., Quirke, P., Campo, L., Domingo, E., Maughan, T., James, J. & Salto-Tellez, M.
01/12/2020
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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Molecular Oncology, Volume 14 Number 10, Cover Art
Viratham Pulsawatdi, A., Craig, S., Bingham, V., McCombe, K., Humphries, M., Senevirathne, S., Richman, S., Quirke, P., Campo, L., Domingo, E., Maughan, T., James, J. & Salto-Tellez, M.
02/10/2020
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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Medscape News UK: Immune Status is Prognostic for Poor Survival in Colorectal Cancer
Craig, S., Humphries, M., Alderdice, M., Bingham, V., Richman, S., Loughrey, M., Coleman, H., Viratham Pulsawatdi, A., McCombe, K., Graeme, M., Blake, A., Domingo, E., Robineau, J., Brown, L., Fisher, D., Seymour, M., Quirke, P., Bankhead, P., McQuaid, S., Lawler, M., McArt, D., Maughan, T., James, J. & Salto-Tellez, M.
24/07/2020
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Research
Impacts
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Implementation of HPV-specific testing in addition to assessment of p16 expression in oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma
Craig, S. (Participant), Anderson, L. (Participant), Schache, A. (Participant), Moran, M. (Participant), Graham, L. (Participant), Currie, K. (Participant), Rooney, K. (Participant), Robinson, M. (Participant), Upile, N. (Participant), Brooker, R. (Participant), Mesri, M. (Participant), Bingham, V. (Participant), Cuschieri, K. (Participant), McQuaid, S. (Participant), Jones, T. (Participant), McCance, D. (Participant), Salto-Tellez, M. (Participant), McDade, S. (Participant) & James, J. (Participant)
Impact: Health Impact, Quality of Life Impact
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Successful Commercial Exploitation of Digital Pathology for Cancer Education, Biomarker Discovery and Clinical Diagnosis
Hamilton, P. (Participant), Diamond, J. (Participant), Wang, Y. (Participant), Wang, C.-W. (Participant), Kelly, P. (Participant), James, J. (Participant) & Fennell, D. (Participant)
Impact: Health Impact, Quality of Life Impact