James Scott is a medical researcher and expert in the genetics and genomics of cardiovascular medicine. He is renowned for his discovery of RNA editing in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells — a process implicated in cholesterol transport, antibody formation and protection against HIV, and stem cell programming. He also discovered a common genetic variation that leads to heart disease, obesity and an abnormal amount of lipids in the blood.
Latterly, his studies have centred on cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, and preventive medicine. He is particularly interested in promoting the longevity and wellbeing of society through genetic predictions. For example, he is working towards a unified approach for the prediction and prevention of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis and heart failure.
James is a founding Member of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He has received a number of awards and honours in recognition of his research, including the 1989 Graham Bull Prize of the Royal College of Physicians and the Bristol–Myers Squibb Award for Cardiovascular Research in 1993.
