Nicholas G. James, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Area of Expertise ~ Protein biochemistry, Fluorescence spectroscopy and microscopy, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes
Email: njames4@hawaii.edu
Phone: +1 808-956-8332
Biography: Dr. James obtained chemistry and biochemistry degrees, along with a minor in mathematics, from Saint Michael’s College (Vermont) in 2004. He continued with graduate studies in Biochemistry, with a focus in Biophysics, at the University of Vermont under Dr. Anne Mason and graduated with a Ph.D. in 2009. Dr. James joined the laboratory of Dr. David M. Jameson as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in Honolulu, HI shortly after graduation. The Jameson’s lab focused on development and application of advanced fluorescence methodologies to characterize protein dynamics both in vitro and in live cells. My early postdoctoral work focused on my fluorescence expertise wherein I was involved with developing more robust analysis of complex protein lifetime analysis. Our lab focused on the development of a time-resolved method for analyzing fluorescence lifetimes, known as the phasors, and demonstrated the effectiveness of this method to characterize protein lifetimes. This project led to multiple first-author publications utilizing these methods and a 2-year grant from the Michael J. Fox Foundation (2014). In 2018, Dr. James became a junior investigator of the COBRE Diabetes grant and was promoted to a tenure eligible Assistant Professor position.
Research: The James laboratory focuses on utilizing advanced fluorescence-based microscopy approaches to study changes in protein-protein and protein-lipid interactions during vesicle formation in living cells, specifically focusing on Diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. We are currently examining the cellular dynamics and interactions of the PD-associated protein LRRK2 and how these interactions might cause neuronal death. We carry out both in vitro and live cell experiments to determine the modes of LRRK2 association involved with kinase activation and target interaction(s), along with treatment with kinase inhibitors. Since 2014, the James lab has cemented several long-standing collaborations within the PD field including Dr. Matt Goldberg (UAB), Dr. Greg Petsko (Cornell), and Dr. Joseph Albanesi (UTSW).