Dr Matt Jones
- Senior Lecturer (Molecular Biosciences)
telephone:
01413304390
email:
Matt.Jones@glasgow.ac.uk
pronouns:
He/him/his
Bower Building 409, University Avenue, University of Glasgow, G12 8QQ
Biography
Matt is a photobiologist working to understand how plants integrate light signals to optimize responses to abiotic stress. After completing his PhD with Prof. John Christie at the University of Glasgow (in which he characterized the photochemical activation of the phototropin family of photoreceptors), Matt moved to UC Davis to understand how the circadian system modulates plants photosensitivity with Prof. Stacey Harmer. Matt worked to understand how the circadian system perceives light, and identified the REVEILLE1 (RVE1) and RVE8 proteins as part of the circadian system. Matt also found that the histone demethylase JMJD5 plays a role in the plant circadian system, most notably under high light stress.
Matt was awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship to begin his independent research career at the University of Essex in September 2012. Matt developed chlorophyll fluorescence techniques to document circadian rhythms within the chloroplast and expanded his research interests to encompass the role of RNA processing, transcript stability, and metabolism in circadian timing. This research led to the identification and characterization of 3’-PhosphoAdenosine 5’-Phosphate (PAP) as a stress-induced metabolite that delays gene expression.
Since moving to Glasgow in 2019, the Jones lab continues to determine how plants perceive and respond to environmental change, currently examining how the circadian system and light signalling pathways interact to promote tolerance of abiotic stresses.
Research interests
Grants
Grants and Awards listed are those received whilst working with the University of Glasgow.
- Coordination of Photosynthetic Productivity by Phototropin Receptor Kinases
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
2024 - 2027
- Setting the PACE: Exploiting Glasgow Expertise to Optimise Protected And Controlled Environment Agriculture
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council
2024 - 2024
- Setting the PACE: Optimise Protected And Controlled Environment Agriculture
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
2024 - 2024
- Integrating Plant Photobiology with Energy Demand Flexing to Improve Productivity in Protected and Controlled Environment Horticulture
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
2024 - 2026
- Wireless plant health monitoring using AI
British Council
2024 - 2025
- IRGA-Live Clamp: An integrated infrared gas-analysis platform to investigate systemic signalling within the plant canopy
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
2022 - 2023
- Reducing Plasticity to Increase the Uniformity of Crop Productivity
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
2022 - 2023
- Fostering an Inclusive Environment for Disabled Researchers in Laboratory Environments
Wellcome Trust
2022 - 2023
- Improve research accessibility and disability support/understanding in molecular biology research within the Institute of Molecular, Cell, and Systems Biology (MCSB) at the University of Glasgow.
The Society for Experimental Biology
2021 - 2022
- Creating a standardised workflow to optimise crop growth characteristics in an innovative vertical farming system
Scottish Funding Council
2020 - 2021
- Measuring the consequences of abiotic stress in vivo
Phenom UK
2020 - 2021
- Integrating light & metabolic signals to understand responses to abiotic stress
Gatsby Charitable Foundation
2019 - 2021
- How does PAP, a stress-induced metabolite, regulate gene expression?
Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council
2019 - 2022
Supervision
- Deckert, Hanna
Exploiting Novel Imaging to Optimise Crop Yield in Controlled Environment Agriculture - Ewing, Scott Fraser
Improving Crop Quality Using LED Lighting in Vertical Farms - Liu, Weiqi
Engineering internal and external environment to improve performance in controlled environment agriculture - Liu, Xinmeng
Characterising drought responses in genome-edited wheat - McFarlane, Zoe
Exploiting recent advances in plant biology to develop drought-resistant crops - McLeod, Joseph
Design of Next Generation Controlled Environment Systems for Optimised Plant Growth - Sharples, Chantal
Engineering Crops to Extend Growing Seasons