Cindy James

Cindy James, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a certified genetic counselor (CGC). She serves as Research Director for both the Johns Hopkins Center for Inherited Heart Diseases and the Johns Hopkins ARVC Precision Medicine Center of Excellence.

• Undergraduate: Biology, Cornell University (2001)
• Sc.M.: Genetic Counseling, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (2003)
• Ph.D.: Human Genetics, Johns Hopkins University (2013)

Dr. James’ research focuses on arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies and cardiovascular genetic counseling, with key initiatives including:

• Investigating genotype-environment interactions in ARVC
• Defining genetic architecture of inherited cardiomyopathies
• Developing risk prediction models for sudden cardiac death
• Improving genetic counseling efficiency through clinical trials

Her work combines clinical registries, translational research, and global collaborations with institutions like the Heart Rhythm Society and ClinGen Cardiovascular Domain.

Recent scientific accolades include:

• Zurich Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy Clinical Science Research Award (2022)
• Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award (2019)
• NHGRI/NHLBI Funding for cardiovascular genetics research

Dr. James actively mentors cardiology fellows, medical residents, genetic counseling students, and leads the NIH-funded Genetic Counseling Training Program at Johns Hopkins. She is a key investigator in clinical trials like RESEQUENCE-GC (NCT05422573) and international multicenter studies on ARVC outcomes.