Dr Paul James

Associate Professor

School: Geography and Natural Sciences

My research develops biotechnology solutions that make industrial processes more sustainable. I use engineering biology to turn bacteria, enzymes and proteins from outside the standard laboratory toolkit into practical technologies, and my work is funded by UKRI and Horizon Europe alongside direct industrial support. It focuses on three areas.

The first is the biovalorisation of waste. I develop genetic toolkits for industrially relevant bacteria such as Geobacillus, so that organisms capable of converting waste into high value products can be engineered as programmable hosts. I am also interested in using waste as a feedstock for the growth of biomaterials, and in extending these toolkits to the production of engineered probiotics.

The second is functional biomaterials. Building on this, I engineer surface active proteins to provide functionally useful biomaterials for a range of applications.

The third is improving the sustainability and performance of home care products. Working closely with industry, I discover and develop enzymes that deliver better biocatalysts for cleaner and more efficient formulations.

I lead a team of doctoral researchers, postdoctoral research associates and research technicians, and I see close partnership with industry as central to turning this research into impact.

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Key Publications

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Exploring the lipoproteome of Parageobacillus thermoglucosidasius, Jackson, M., Palmowski, P., Porter, A., James, P., Sutcliffe, I. 10 Apr 2026, In: Access Microbiology
Environmentally Conscious Hydrophobic Spray Coatings on Bacterial Cellulose for Sustainable and Reusable Textiles, Gilmour, K., Dell’Agnese, B., Bonney, G., Unthank, M., White, N., Scott, J., Sherry, A., James, P., Jiang, Y., Dade-Robertson, M., Zhang, M. 10 Jul 2025, In: Journal of Cleaner Production
Hydroxylation mechanism of lignin-derived aromatic substrates catalyzed by plant P450 cinnamate 4-hydroxylase, Santos, S., James, P., Bommareddy, R., Jiang, Y., Li, J., Li, C., Singh, W., Huang, M. 7 Dec 2025, In: Catalysis Science and Technology
Living Assembly: Building with Biology, Dade-Robertson, M., Becket, R., Arnardottir, T., Ozkan, D., Birch, E., Hoenerloh, A., Tsim, L., Gilmour, K., Poma, M., James, P., Nair, S., Dominguez, A., Wei, H., Scott, W., Whiteside, C., Zhang, M. 2025
SubtiToolKit: a bioengineering kit for Bacillus subtilis and Gram-positive bacteria, Caro-Astorga, J., Rogan, M., Malcı, K., Ming, H., Debenedictis, E., James, P., Ellis, T. 1 Jun 2025, In: Trends in Biotechnology
Bio-futures for transplanetary habitats: a summary and key outcomes from the 2022 symposium, Van Ellen, L., Belling, A., Lipińska, M., Nerlich, P., Azzopardi, H., Ciardullo, C., Dade-Robertson, M., Holt, A., James, P., Roberts, A., Vermeulen, A., Zhang, M. 19 Sep 2024, In: Research Directions: Biotechnology Design
Biogenic Construction, Gilmour, K., Haystead, J., Karimian, A., Moreland, P., Wang, J., Arnandottin, T., Christgen, B., Rodrigues Corral, J., Guyet, A., Zhang, M., Wipat, A., Mitrani, H., Dade-Robertson, M., Sharma Ghimire, P., Wright, J., James, P., Mwebaza, D., Theodoridoua, M., Bruno, A., Bridgens, B., Sherry, A., Ozkan, D., Agraviador, A., Perry, O., Bagga, M., Alex, A., Hamley-Bennett, C., Justo-Reinoso, I., Gebhard, S., Paine, K., Masoero, E., Ofiteru, I., Wang, C., Eiriksdottir, S., Savas, E., Jones, E., De Nardi, C., Harbottle , M., Reitzer, P., New, R., Bryan, S., Mol, L., Campbell, O., Gilbert, O., Gudnadottir, B., Cuzman, O., Peritto, B. 20 Mar 2024
Electrospinning of Bacterial Cellulose Fibres: Challenges for an Innovative Bioengineered Fibre Production Technique, Paul, S., Gusain, R., Jiang, Y., James, P., Zhang, M. 7 Jun 2024, In: Trends in Textile Engineering and Fashion Technology
Microbially induced calcium carbonate precipitation through CO2 sequestration via an engineered bacillus subtilis, Gilmour, K., Sharma Ghimire, P., Wright, J., Haystead, J., Dade-Robertson, M., Zhang, M., James, P. 1 Dec 2024, In: Microbial Cell Factories
Biofilm inspired fabrication of functional bacterial cellulose through ex-situ and in-situ approaches, Gilmour, K., Aljannat, M., Markwell, C., James, P., Scott, J., Jiang, Y., Torun, H., Dade-Robertson, M., Zhang, M. 15 Mar 2023, In: Carbohydrate Polymers

Professional Activity

Please visit the Pure Research Information Portal for further information
Oral presentation: Demonstrating the potential of biological self-healing for conservation through the healing masonry prototype. Presenter: Magdalini Theodoridou. 2023

PGR Supervision

Ellie Ashcroft Enzyme innovation in fabric care to drive superior cleaning performance under challenging conditions Start Date: 19/02/2026
Madeline Sanderson Engineering Microorganisms with Fluorescent Protein Reporters for Rapid Viability Assessment. Start Date: 01/10/2025
Madeline Sanderson Engineering Microorganisms with Fluorescent Protein Reporters for Rapid Viability Assessment. Start Date: 01/10/2025 End Date: 17/10/2025
Alice Stephen Identification and mechanistic understanding of enzymes optimised for high pH detergent environments Start Date: 26/02/2026
Rosanna Rostron Start Date: 27/10/2025 End Date: 22/05/2026
Molly Hall Start Date: 27/10/2025 End Date: 10/05/2026
Katie Wood Novel approaches for grease/sebum cleaning in cold water Start Date: 01/10/2024
Matthew Rogan A Toolkit for Engineering Geobacillus and Parageobacillus as a Chassis for Bio-valorisation of Waste Produced in the Built Environment and Production of Industrially Relevant Chemicals Start Date: 01/10/2020 End Date: 23/05/2025
Katie Wood Novel approaches for grease/sebum cleaning in cold water Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025
Benjamin Gardner Novel biotechnology approaches for grass stain removal Start Date: 01/10/2024
Mohammed Alam Skin Microbiome Reporter Models for studying the effects of consumer good actives on healthy microbiomes Start Date: 01/10/2026
Benjamin Gardner Novel biotechnology approaches for grass stain removal Start Date: 01/10/2024 End Date: 17/10/2025
Katie Parker-McKenna Bioprospecting Extreme Environments for Novel Enzymes to Tackle Fruit, Vegetable and Beverage Stains in Laundry and Dishwashing Start Date: 01/10/2026