Br. James was raised in Mahopac, NY. He earned a B.S. in biology at Providence College, where he first met the Dominicans. After graduation, he spent several years investigating the molecular basis for Huntington Disease at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston before matriculating at the University of Massachusetts School of Medicine in Worcester, where he earned a Master of Science in neuroscience. He entered the Order of Preachers in 2015.