David James (cell biologist)

David Ernest James (born in Sydney in 1958) is a cell biologist who discovered the glucose transporter GLUT4. He has also been responsible for the molecular dissection of the intracellular trafficking pathways that regulate GLUT4 translocation to the cell surface, the topological mapping of the insulin signal transduction pathway, the creation of a method for studying in vivo metabolism in small animals, and the use of this method to gain insights into whole-animal fuel metabolism and homeostasis.

Career
In 1979 he graduated with a BSc (Hons) from the University of New South Wales, and gained his Ph.D. at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research in 1985. Subsequently he pursued postdoc research at Boston University and Washington University in St. Louis in the USA. In 1993 he returned to Australia, first to Brisbane and then once again at the Garvan Institute. In 2014 he moved to the University of Sydney.

He currently holds joint appointments as the Leonard P Ullmann Chair in Molecular Systems Biology and as the Domain Leader for Biology at the Charles Perkins Centre at The University of Sydney.

Awards and honours

 * 1993–1997: Wellcome Trust Research Fellowship
 * 1999: Glaxo Wellcome Australia Medal
 * 2000: Mary Kugel Award for services to the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
 * 2006: Kellion Award from the Australian Diabetes Society
 * 2007: Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science
 * 2008: Millennium Award, Diabetes Australian Research Trust
 * 2014: ANZCDBS President’s Medal
 * 2016: NSW Premier’s Prize for Medical Research
 * 2020: Australian Laureate Fellowship