Dr James Polke

Clinical Scientist

The highly specialised service (HSS) for Mitochondrial Disorders at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery is a multidisciplinary team with close coordination between clinical and research groups and the Neurogenetics and Neurometabolic laboratories. We are part of a coordinated network of HSS services in England alongside teams in Oxford and Newcastle. The translational research conducted in the department has directed the development of the genetic tests offered by the lab over the last 20 years. James trained as a Clinical Scientist in Bristol before completing a PhD in molecular genetics at the University of Glasgow. He has worked in the Neurogenetics Laboratory since 2008 and attained molecular genetics FRCPath Part 1 in 2010. He is Head of the laboratory and oversees the mitochondrial genetic service. He has a research interest in the transcriptional effects of coding and non-coding mutations in Mitochondrial Disease and other genetic disorders.