Judith A. James

Judith A. James, M.D., Ph.D., is Chair of the Arthritis and Clinical Immunology Program and holds the Lou Kerr Chair in Biomedical Research at the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation. Dr. James is also the Associate Vice Provost for Clinical and Translational Science and Professor of Medicine and Pathology at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.

Dr. James’ research interests focus on understanding the etiology and pathogenesis of lupus, Sjogren’s syndrome and related disorders, the evolution and pathogenic mechanisms of autoantibodies in systemic rheumatic disease, and the interplay of genetic risk and environmental responses in systemic autoimmunity. Her work has made seminal contributions to understanding how autoimmune diseases start and the concept of humoral epitope spreading. She has published over 270 articles in journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, Journal of Experimental Medicine, Annals of Rheumatic Disease and Arthritis, and Rheumatology. Dr. James currently serves as the principal investigator for several large, multi-investigator NIH-funded grants, such as the U54 Oklahoma Shared Clinical & Translational Resources from NIGMS, U19 Autoimmunity Center of Excellence from NIAID, and P30 Rheumatic Disease Research Cores Center from NIAMS. Dr. James has conducted lectures for the American College of Rheumatology and the International Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Meetings, among others.