James is an Upper Gastrointestinal specialist surgeon, working primarily out of University Hospital Southampton. James has been responsible for the creation of a multidisciplinary bariatric surgical research group in Southampton with membership of public health, health economics, diabetes and endocrinology, primary care and user involvement through this centre James has been an investigator on several small and large clinical trials. He is also a NICE advisor for Upper GI surgery and a member of the Council of the British Obesity and Metabolic Surgery Society.