James Davies

DPhil, MRCP

Professor of Genomics

Honorary Consultant Haematologist

Biography

I am a clinician scientist with a specialist interest in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, genome editing, functional genomics and bioinformatics. My research group is based at the MRC Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Oxford, and I am an Honorary Consultant Haematologist with the Oxford allogeneic bone marrow transplant service.

Our research seeks to understand the fundamental mechanisms that control gene regulation. We have a particular interest in developing technologies that reveal the three-dimensional structure of the genome at unprecedented resolution, enabling us to determine how the physical organisation of DNA regulates gene expression in normal cells and how these processes are disrupted in cancer and other diseases.

By combining genomics, genome engineering and computational biology, we investigate how genetic variation alters gene regulation and contributes to disease risk. We use these insights to identify new therapeutic targets and develop genome editing strategies for blood and bone marrow-derived cells, with the long-term goal of translating fundamental discoveries into new treatments for patients.