Dr James Edgar

Dr James Edgar For media enquiries please contact the Press Team
Senior Lecturer
Faculty:
Faculty of Science and Engineering
School:
Life Sciences
Location:
Cambridge
Areas of Expertise:
Cell and Molecular Biology
Research Supervision:
Yes

James joined ARU as a senior lecturer in 2026 and he currently teaches on various courses within Life Sciences. James currently holds a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship and his research interests focus on cell biology and membrane trafficking.

[email protected]
James Edgar - Google Scholar
James Edgar - PubMed
James Edgar - ORCID
James Edgar - ResearchGate

Background

James holds a BSc in Pharmacology from the University of Southampton and a PhD from University College London. He undertook postdoctoral training at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, University of Cambridge (2012–2019) with Prof Scottie Robinson, where he developed his research programme in membrane trafficking and extracellular vesicle biology.

Before joining ARU in 2026, James was a group leader at the Department of Pathology, University of Cambridge (2019 – 2026). James currently holds a Sir Henry Dale Fellowship (2020 – 2026) and maintains affiliations with two Departments at University of Cambridge.

His areas of expertise include Cell and molecular biology, membrane traffic, virology and immunology.

Research interests
  • Membrane trafficking
  • Endosomes
  • Exosomes
  • Biochemistry
  • Drug delivery
  • Imaging methods
Areas of research supervision

James welcomes enquiries from prospective postgraduate students in the areas of his research interests.

Teaching
  • Project Preparation (Level 5) – Module Lead
  • Pharmacology and Translational Medicine (Level 7) – Module Lead
  • Laboratory Techniques in Applied Bioscience (Level 7) – Module Lead
  • Introduction to Cell Biology (Level 4) – Lecturer
Qualifications
  • BSc Pharmacology - University of Southampton
  • PhD - University College London
Research grants, consultancy, knowledge exchange

Sir Henry Dale Fellowship (Wellcome Trust / The Royal Society).
Principal Investigator, January 2020 – December 2026, £1,066,222
Project: Tethered exosomes and their role in MHC-II presentation.

Isaac Newton Trust Research Grant
Principal Investigator, May 2019 - October 2020, £84,310
Project: Antigen presentation by B cells.

Royal Society Research Grant
Principal Investigator, January 2020 - January 2022, £19,745
Project: The role of tethered exosomes in breast cancer metastasis.

Ectopic bioengineered exosome expression (Industry collaboration: Exosis Inc)
Principal Investigator, April 2021 - April 2023, £131,000 overheads
Project: Generating bioengineered exosomes with therapeutic potential.

BBSRC Research Grant
Co-Investigator, January 2020 - January 2023, £797,724
Project: Mechanisms of generating coronavirus replication organelles

UKRI-BBSRC COVID-19 Research Grant
Co-Investigator, January 2021 - January 2023, £260,553
Project: Novel mechanisms of regulatory T cell mediated suppression

Selected recent publications

** Exosome Tethering Requires Tetherin Homodimerisation. Yıldızhan Y, Bourke AM, Jackson HK, Manna PT, Palmulli R, Edgar JR. Biol Cell. 2025 Dec;117(12):e70046. doi: 10.1111/boc.70046.

Encephalomyocarditis virus protein 2B* interacts with 14-3-3 proteins through a phosphorylated Cterminal binding motif. Nguyen SK, Anders N, Holmes S, Barrow HG, Lukhovitskaya N, Jahun AS, Georgana I, Caller LG, Edgar JR, Graham SC, Emmott E, Firth AE, Stewart H. mBio. 2025 Aug 18:e0100825. doi: 10.1128/mbio.01008-25.

Endogenous gene editing of alveolar organoids reveals that expression of pathogenic variant SFTPC-I73T disrupts endosomal function, epithelial polarity and wound healing. Rutherford EN, Sun D, Lim K, Edgar JR, Matesic LE, Marciniak SJ, Rawlins EL, Dickens JA. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Jul 22:2025.07.22.665497. doi: 10.1101/2025.07.22.665497.

** Tethered Exosomes Containing the Matrix Metalloproteinase MT1-MMP Contribute to Extracellular Matrix Degradation. Palmulli R, Jackson HK, Edgar JR. J Extracell Vesicles. 2025 Jul;14(7):e70122. doi: 10.1002/jev2.70122.

Interactions between placental Hofbauer cells and L. monocytogenes change throughout gestation. Yoshida N, Appios A, Li Q, Hutton JP, Wood G, Potts M, Aleksandrowicz J, Barrozo ER, Dover F, Anderson H, Stephens K, Aye ILMH, Thomas JR, Schenk HCM, Bourke AM, Aiken CE, Moffett A, Sharkey A, V Protasio A, Aagaard KM, Edgar JR, Chung BYW, McGovern N. Sci Immunol. 2025 Jul 18;10(109):eadq3066. doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.adq3066.

The EMCV protein 2B* is required for efficient cell lysis via both caspase-3-dependent and independent pathways during infection. Nguyen SK, Long E, Edgar JR, Firth AE, Stewart H. J Gen Virol. 2025 Feb;106(2):002075. doi: 10.1099/jgv.0.002075.

A novel human fetal lung-derived alveolar organoid model reveals mechanisms of surfactant protein C maturation relevant to interstitial lung disease. Lim K, Rutherford EN, Sun D, Van den Boomen DJH, Edgar JR, Bang JH, Matesic LE, Lee JH, Lehner PJ, Marciniak SJ, Rawlins EL, Dickens JA. EMBO J. 2025 Jan 15. doi: 10.1038/s44318-024-00328-6

Lack of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase VPS34 in regulatory T cells leads to a fatal lymphoproliferative disorder without affecting their development. Courreges CJF, Davenport ECM, Bilanges B, Rebollo-Gomez E, Hukelmann J, Schoenfelder P, Edgar JR, Sansom D, Scudamore CL, Roychoudhuri R, Garden OA, Vanhaesebroeck B, Okkenhaug K. Front Immunol. 2024 Nov 27;15:1374621 doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2024.1374621

Human placental cells are resistant to SARS-CoV-2 infection and replication. Yoshida N, Thomas JR, Appios A, Brember MP, Aye ILMH, Edgar JR, Firth AE, Chung BYW, McGovern N, Stewart H. Wellcome Open Res. 2024 Nov 22;9:209. doi: 10.12688/wellcomeopenres.20514.2.

** Bioengineered small extracellular vesicles deliver multiple SARS-CoV-2 antigenic fragments and drive a broad immunological response. Jackson HK, Long HM, Yam-Puc JC, Palmulli R, Haigh TA, Gerber PP, Lee JS, Matheson NJ, Young L, Trowsdale J, Lo M, Taylor GS, Thaventhiran JE, Edgar JR. J Extracell Vesicles. 2024 Feb;13(2):e12412. doi:10.1002/jev2.12412.

The SARS-CoV-2 protein ORF3c is a mitochondrial modulator of innate immunity. Stewart H, Lu Y, O'Keefe S, Valpadashi A, Cruz-Zaragoza LD, Michel HA, Nguyen SK, Carnell GW, Lukhovitskaya N, Milligan R, Adewusi Y, Jungreis I, Lulla V, Matthews DA, High S, Rehling P, Emmott E, Heeney JL, Davidson AD, Edgar JR*, Smith GL*, Firth AE*. iScience. 2023 Sep 28;26(11):108080. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.108080.

** Tetherin antagonism by SARS-CoV-2 ORF3a and spike protein enhances virus release. Stewart H, Palmulli R, Johansen KH, McGovern N, Shehata OM, Carnell GW, Jackson HK, Lee JS, Brown JC, Burgoyne T, Heeney JL, Okkenhaug K, Firth AE, Peden AA, Edgar JR. EMBO Rep. 2023 Oct 11:e57224. doi: 10.15252/embr.202357224.

Establishing SARS-CoV-2 membrane protein-specific antibodies as a valuable serological target via high-content microscopy. Williams DM, Hornsby HR, Shehata OM, Brown R, Gallis M, Meardon N, Newman TAH, Plowright M, Zafred D, Shun-Shion ASM, Hodder AJ, Bliss D, Metcalfe A, Edgar JR, Gordon DE, Sayers JR, Nicklin MJ, Carroll M; PITCH Consortium; Collini PJ, Brown S, de Silva TI, Peden AA. iScience. 2023 Jul 21;26(7):107056. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107056

Multi-omic approach characterises the neuroprotective role of retromer in regulating lysosomal health. Daly JL, Danson CM, Lewis PA, Zhao L, Riccardo S, Di Filippo L, Cacchiarelli D, Lee D, Cross SJ, Heesom KJ, Xiong WC, Ballabio A, Edgar JR, Cullen PJ. Nat Commun. 2023 May 29;14(1):3086. doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-38719-8.

Altered subgenomic RNA abundance provides unique insight into SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7/Alpha variant infections. Parker MD, Stewart H, Shehata OM, Lindsey BB, Shah DR, Hsu S, Keeley AJ, Partridge DG, Leary S, Cope A, State A, Johnson K, Ali N, Raghei R, Heffer J, Smith N, Zhang P, Gallis M, Louka SF, Hornsby HR, Alamri H, Whiteley M, Foulkes BH, Christou S, Wolverson P, Pohare M, Hansford SE, Green LR, Evans C, Raza M, Wang D, Firth AE, Edgar JR, Gaudieri S, Mallal S; COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium; Collins MO, Peden AA, de Silva TI. Commun Biol. 2022 Jul 5;5(1):666. doi: 10.1038/s42003-022-03565-9.

Ultrastructural insight into SARS-CoV-2 entry and budding in human airway epithelium. Pinto AL, Rai RK, Brown JC, Griffin P, Edgar JR, Shah A, Singanayagam A, Hogg C, Barclay WS, Futter CE, Burgoyne T. Nat Commun. 2022 Mar 25;13(1):1609. doi: 10.1038/s41467-022-29255-y.

Organelle tethering, pore formation and SNARE compensation in the late endocytic pathway. Davis LJ, Bright NA, Edgar JR, Parkinson MDJ, Wartosch L, Mantell J, Peden AA, Luzio JP. J Cell Sci. 2021 May 15;134(10):jcs255463. doi: 10.1242/jcs.255463.

Exploiting Connections for Viral Replication. Wong LH, Edgar JR, Martello A, Ferguson BJ, Eden ER. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2021 Mar 18;9:640456. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2021.640456.

De Novo VPS4A Mutations Cause Multisystem Disease with Abnormal Neurodevelopment. Rodger C, Flex E, Allison RJ, Sanchis-Juan A, Hasenahuer MA, Cecchetti S, French CE, Edgar JR, Carpentieri G, Ciolfi A, Pantaleoni F, Bruselles A; Genomics England Research Consortium; Onesimo R, Zampino G, Marcon F, Siniscalchi E, Lees M, Krishnakumar D, McCann E, Yosifova D, Jarvis J, Kruer MC, Marks W, Campbell J, Allen LE, Gustincich S, Raymond FL, Tartaglia M, Reid E. Am J Hum Genet. 2020 Dec 3;107(6):1129-1148. doi: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2020.10.012

A dysfunctional endolysosomal pathway common to two sub-types of demyelinating CharcotMarie-Tooth disease. Edgar JR#, Ho AK, Laura M, Horvath R, Reilly MM, Luzio JP, Roberts RC#. Acta Neuropathol Commun. 2020 Oct 15;8(1):165. doi:10.1186/s40478-020-01043-z.

OPTN recruitment to a Golgi-proximal compartment regulates immune signalling and cytokine secretion. O'Loughlin T, Kruppa AJ, Ribeiro ALR, Edgar JR, Ghannam A, Smith AM, Buss F. J Cell Sci. 2020 Jun 15;133(12):jcs239822. doi: 10.1242/jcs.239822.

Spastin MIT Domain Disease-Associated Mutations Disrupt Lysosomal Function. Allison R, Edgar JR, Reid E. Front Neurosci. 2019 Nov 8;13:1179. doi: 10.3389/fnins.2019.01179.

Compartmentalized Synthesis of Triacylglycerol at the Inner Nuclear Membrane Regulates Nuclear Organization. Barbosa AD, Lim K, Mari M, Edgar JR, Gal L, Sterk P, Jenkins BJ, Koulman A, Savage DB, Schuldiner M, Reggiori F, Wigge PA, Siniossoglou S. Dev Cell. 2019 Sep 23;50(6):755-766.e6. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2019.07.009.

The homophilic receptor PTPRK selectively dephosphorylates multiple junctional regulators to promote cell-cell adhesion. Fearnley GW, Young KA, Edgar JR, Antrobus R, Hay IM, Liang WC, Martinez-Martin N, Lin W, Deane JE, Sharpe HJ. Elife. 2019 Mar 29;8:e44597. doi: 10.7554/eLife.44597.

Frontotemporal dementia causative CHMP2B impairs neuronal endolysosomal traffic-rescue by TMEM106B knockdown. Clayton EL, Milioto C, Muralidharan B, Norona FE, Edgar JR, Soriano A, Jafar-Nejad P, Rigo F, Collinge J, Isaacs AM. Brain. 2018 Dec 1;141(12):3428-3442. doi: 10.1093/brain/awy284.

AP-4 vesicles contribute to spatial control of autophagy via RUSC-dependent peripheral delivery of ATG9A. Davies AK, Itzhak DN, Edgar JR, Archuleta TL, Hirst J, Jackson LP, Robinson MS, Borner GHH. Nat Commun. 2018 Sep 27;9(1):3958. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-06172-7.

Fas Ligand localizes to intraluminal vesicles within NK cell cytolytic granules and is enriched at the immune synapse. Lee J, Dieckmann NMG, Edgar JR, Griffiths GM, Siegel RM. Immun Inflamm Dis. 2018 Jun;6(2):312-321. doi: 10.1002/iid3.219.

Mechanistic basis of an epistatic interaction reducing age at onset in hereditary spastic paraplegia. Newton T, Allison R, Edgar JR, Lumb JH, Rodger CE, Manna PT, Rizo T, Kohl Z, Nygren AOH, Arning L, Schule R, Depienne C, Goldberg L, Frahm C, Stevanin G, Durr A, Schols L, Winner B, Beetz C, Reid E. Brain. 2018 May 1;141(5):1286-1299. doi: 10.1093/brain/awy034.

The WDR11 complex facilitates the tethering of AP-1-derived vesicles. Navarro Negredo P, Edgar JR, Manna PT, Antrobus R, Robinson MS. Nat Commun. 2018 Feb 9;9(1):596. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-02919-4.

Aβ accumulation causes MVB enlargement and is modelled by dominant negative VPS4A. Willen K, Edgar JR, Hasegawa T, Tanaka N, Futter CE, Gouras GK. Mol Neurodegener. 2017 Aug 23;12(1):61. doi: 10.1186/s13024-017-0203-y.

Role of clathrin in dense core vesicle biogenesis. Sahu BS, Manna PT, Edgar JR, Antrobus R, Mahata SK, Bartolomucci A, Borner GHH, Robinson MS. Mol Biol Cell. 2017 Oct 1;28(20):2676-2685. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E16-10-0742

Contribution of the clathrin adaptor AP-1 subunit μ1 to acidic cluster protein sorting. Navarro Negredo P, Edgar JR, Wrobel AG, Zaccai NR, Antrobus R, Owen DJ, Robinson MS. J Cell Biol. 2017 Sep 4;216(9):2927-2943. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201602058.

Defects in ER-endosome contacts impact lysosome function in hereditary spastic paraplegia. Allison R*, Edgar JR*, Pearson G*, Rizo T, Newton T, Gunther S, Berner F, Hague J, Connell JW, Winkler J, Lippincott-Schwartz J, Beetz C, Winner B, Reid E. J Cell Biol. 2017 May 1;216(5):13371355. doi: 10.1083/jcb.201609033.

** Tetherin is an exosomal tether. Edgar JR#, Manna PT, Nishimura S, Banting G, Robinson MS#. Elife. 2016 Sep 22;5:e17180. doi: 10.7554/eLife.17180.

Complicated spastic paraplegia in patients with AP5Z1 mutations (SPG48). Hirst J, Madeo M, Smets K, Edgar JR, Schols L, Li J, Yarrow A, Deconinck T, Baets J, Van Aken E, De Bleecker J, Datiles MB 3rd, Roda RH, Liepert J, Zuchner S, Mariotti C, De Jonghe P, Blackstone C, Kruer MC. Neurol Genet. 2016 Aug 25;2(5):e98. doi: 10.1212/NXG.0000000000000098.

Q&A: What are exosomes, exactly? Edgar JR. BMC Biol. 2016 Jun 13;14:46. doi: 10.1186/s12915-016-0268-z.

Molecular Mechanisms of Disease Pathogenesis Differ in Krabbe Disease Variants. Spratley SJ, Hill CH, Viuff AH, Edgar JR, Skjodt K, Deane JE. Traffic. 2016 Aug;17(8):908-22. doi: 10.1111/tra.12404.

Frontotemporal dementia caused by CHMP2B mutation is characterised by neuronal lysosomal storage pathology. Clayton EL, Mizielinska S, Edgar JR, Nielsen TT, Marshall S, Norona FE, Robbins M, Damirji H, Holm IE, Johannsen P, Nielsen JE, Asante EA, Collinge J; FReJA consortium; Isaacs AM. Acta Neuropathol. 2015 Oct;130(4):511-23. doi: 10.1007/s00401-0151475-3.

Contributions of epsinR and gadkin to clathrin-mediated intracellular trafficking. Hirst J, Edgar JR, Borner GH, Li S, Sahlender DA, Antrobus R, Robinson MS. Mol Biol Cell. 2015 Sep 1;26(17):3085-103. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E15-04-0245.

Loss of AP-5 results in accumulation of aberrant endolysosomes: defining a new type of lysosomal storage disease. Hirst J*, Edgar JR*, Esteves T, Darios F, Madeo M, Chang J, Roda RH, Durr A, Anheim M, Gellera C, Li J, Zuchner S, Mariotti C, Stevanin G, Blackstone C, Kruer MC, Robinson MS. Hum Mol Genet. 2015 Sep 1;24(17):4984-96. doi: 10.1093/hmg/ddv220.

ESCRTs regulate amyloid precursor protein sorting in multivesicular bodies and intracellular amyloid-β accumulation. Edgar JR, Willen K, Gouras GK, Futter CE. J Cell Sci. 2015 Jul 15;128(14):2520-8. doi: 10.1242/jcs.170233.

Fractionation profiling: a fast and versatile approach for mapping vesicle proteomes and proteinprotein interactions. Borner GH, Hein MY, Hirst J, Edgar JR, Mann M, Robinson MS. Mol Biol Cell. 2014 Oct 15;25(20):3178-94. doi: 10.1091/mbc.E14-07-1198.

Hrs- and CD63-dependent competing mechanisms make different sized endosomal intraluminal vesicles. Edgar JR, Eden ER, Futter CE. Traffic. 2014 Feb;15(2):197-211. doi: 10.1111/tra.12139.

The relationship between ER-multivesicular body membrane contacts and the ESCRT machinery. Eden ER, Burgoyne T, Edgar JR, Sorkin A, Futter CE. Biochem Soc Trans. 2012 Apr;40(2):464-8. doi: 10.1042/BST20110774.

Recent presentations and conferences

Highlighted presentations (past five years):

  • 2020, Cell Biology Seminar Series, University of Bristol, UK
  • 2021, Cell Biology Forum, University of Sheffield, UK - Plenary Speaker
  • 2021, 2023, 2025, UK Membrane Trafficking Conference, UK
  • 2023, International Society of Extracellular Vesicles, Seattle, USA
  • 2023, Meeting of Minds, The Royal Society, UK
  • 2023, Invited speaker, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK
  • 2023, Invited speaker, KU Leuven, Belgium
  • 2023, Precision Extracellular Vesicles Forum, UK
  • 2025, French Society for Extracellular Vesicles, France - Plenary speaker
  • 2025, Disruptive Forum on Extracellular Vesicles, UK
  • 2026, Invited speaker, University of Manchester, Immunology Series, UK
Media experience

James has collaborated with UK media to raise awareness about the use of exosomes in the cosmetics industry, drawing attention to concerns over their application and the lack of effective regulation: