Postdoc Appreciation Week Spotlight: James Glover

September 21-25, 2026, is National Postdoc Appreciation Week. Since 2009, the National Postdoctoral Association (NPA) has sponsored this annual celebration to recognize the significant contributions that postdoctoral scholars make to research and scientific discovery. Check out the NPA website to view the virtual and in-person events being held this week. 

This week, BPS will be highlighting postdoc members on the blog. Today, read about James Glover, University of California, Berkeley.

---

Background & Inspiration 

1. Can you tell us a little about your background and what brought you to your current postdoc position? 

I started out as an undergraduate researcher at King’s College London, where I first sat down at a microscope and watched cells dancing around in a dish, which made me fall in love with microscopy. I continued working as an MRes-PhD student in Juan Martin-Serrano’s lab with a Medical Research Council Scholarship, where I worked on the endosomal sorting complexes required for transport (ESCRTs), a family of proteins that orchestrate membrane remodeling processes throughout the cell. Using cell line engineering and advanced fluorescence microscopy, I discovered a novel ESCRT protein that helps cells divide, along with a new mechanism cells use to preserve genomic integrity when faced with mis-segregated DNA. 

But to fully visualize the structures I was interested in, I required higher resolution. This is what took me across the globe to Wes Sundquist’s lab in Utah, where I was fortunate enough to receive a grant to cover training in cryo-correlative light and electron microscopy, a technique which links fluorescence imaging to high-resolution electron microscopy. Ultimately, this formed the basis of my postdoctoral study in Jim Hurley’s lab at UC Berkeley, where I now combine super-resolution techniques and cryo-electron tomography to investigate the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases at high-resolution.

2. What inspired you to pursue research in your field? 

Understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases is personal to me: as I watched my grandmother struggle with Alzheimer’s disease is what ultimately inspired me to pursue research in this field. While studying the intricate mechanisms by which ESCRTs remodel membranes during my PhD, I noticed a growing body of evidence linking these proteins with neurodegenerative diseases. In this context, the cellular machinery often fails in ways that are difficult to visualize with microscopy techniques that are limited in resolution. 

Cryo-electron tomography enables us to look directly inside cells to reveal molecular details, which I’m applying to investigate ways ESCRTs, and other proteins are involved in neurodegenerative diseases. Given my background in cell biology and training in structural biology, I have been using a battery of techniques across resolution scales to study the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative disease in human iPSC-derived models to inform future therapeutic interventions.

Daily Work & Routine 

3. What does a typical day look like for you as a postdoc? 

My day starts off with checking each of my cell lines (we currently have a range of iPSCs, neurons, astrocytes, microglia and a variety of different cancer lines in the incubator!). Once I confirm that everything is looking healthy, I’ll start warming up all the different types of media I’ll need for the day. I’ll then collect some samples that have been incubating overnight and stain them with different antibodies to visualize proteins and organelles like lysosomes and mitochondria. As we have our own microscope and many different super-resolution scopes on campus, I can take my samples to be imaged across a variety of scopes that provide a range of resolution scales. Once I’m finished imaging, I'll run the data through automated image analysis pipelines I designed, saving a lot of time in processing! I’ll then start tissue culture which involves seeding, differentiating and treating cells for many different types of experiments. As part of preparing samples for cryo-electron tomography, I’ll seed cells on grids, carefully controlling the density of cells so that we can take these samples to be milled into very thin lamellae (less than 200 nm thick!) and then imaged on the electron microscope. Throughout the day I’ll also do my best to respond to the onslaught of emails I receive!

4. Do you have a favorite part of your daily routine—or a task you look forward to most? 

I have three wonderful undergraduate students that I have the privilege of mentoring, so seeing them as they become incredible scientists doing a variety of cool techniques is easily the best part of my daily routine as a postdoc!

5. What’s one part of your day that people might find surprising or unexpected? 

As I’m from the UK and working in the US, I try my best to start my day off or end my day with calling my nieces and nephews back in Northern Ireland. 

Research & Impact 

6. Can you briefly describe your research project and why it matters? 

I’m establishing iPSC-derived systems on EM grids to investigate the mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative diseases using cryo-electron tomography. Models used in research often lack physiological relevance to those most impacted by disease, so I’m using iPSCs from high-risk groups to fill this gap. High-resolution structures are required to better identify therapeutic targets, which I am working on also.

7. What’s the most exciting discovery or moment you’ve had during your postdoc so far? 

The most exciting moment of my first year as a postdoc is getting to see my undergraduates presenting their projects in our department, which was a very rewarding experience seeing all the brilliant science they’ve be doing!

Personal Touch 

8. How do you balance life in the lab with life outside of it? 

I think it is quite difficult to balance these things especially at the start of your postdoc when you’re still establishing systems and doing very and new exciting work. Hopefully in the future I will be able to give a better answer to this important question.

9. What hobbies or activities help you recharge after work? 

I enjoy watching football (or “soccer”), often at strange times as all the teams I support play in the UK.

10. Any fun lab quirks? 

If you see an energy drink, there is a good chance its mine!

Advice & Future 

11. What advice would you give to someone just starting a postdoc? 

Think deeply about the questions you want to answer and how to best answer them. Often, people will change fields or techniques when transitioning from doctoral to postdoctoral studies, so it is very important that you absorb as much background information as possible to ensure you can work smart in your new area. 

12. Where do you see yourself heading next in your career? 

I think the most important thing in science is mentoring the next generation of scientists and building multi-disciplinary teams and collaborations to answer difficult questions. The next step in my career after my postdoc is to do exactly this.