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Paul James, MD, is professor and chair of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Washington. Prior to his work at the University of Washington, Dr. James served as professor and chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Iowa (2005-2016) with a joint appointment as a professor in the Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health.

Dr. James was raised in rural North Carolina. He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he received his baccalaureate and medical degrees. He completed his Family Medicine residency training at the University of Virginia Hospitals in Charlottesville, Virginia. He then practiced family medicine in rural eastern North Carolina and was instrumental in creating the North Carolina Agromedicine Institute. While still in rural practice, he completed a mini-fellowship in Rural Medicine at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Dr. James was recruited to SUNY at Buffalo, NY in 1992 where he completed a faculty development fellowship in Rural Health. While there, Dr. James began the Upstate NY practice-based research network (PBRN called UNYNET) and studied adherence to guidelines in primary care practices. He also conducted studies on ambulatory medical education instructional quality using the MedEd IQ instrument.

In 2001, Dr. James was recruited to Iowa as the first Iowa Academy of Family Physicians Endowed Chair in Rural Medicine. He founded the Iowa Research Network (IRENE), a PBRN of Iowa family physicians. In 2005 he became Chairman/Executive Officer of the Department. In 2010, Dr James was named the Donald J and Anna M Ottilie Endowed Chair of Family Medicine.

Dr. James is a well-regarded expert in rural medicine, ambulatory medical education, measurement of health care quality for patients with cardiovascular diseases and team-based care through pharmacist-physician collaboration. He is the recipient of numerous teaching awards, two international research awards, and grant funding from the National Board of Medical Examiners, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Nationally, he has served as Co-chair of the Eighth Joint National Committee on Prevention, Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure; Chair of the Association of Departments of Family Medicine (ADFM) Research Development Committee, President and Chairman of the Board for ADFM.

Dr. James believes deeply in the transformative power of family medicine and the role of academic clinical departments to advance education, research, and clinical service to achieve health for all. He is actively involved in teaching Family Medicine residents, medical and PA students as part of his work with the UW Family Medicine Residency. He continues to care for his own panel of primary care patients and remains committed to research at the interface of clinical practice, measurement, and education.