Alex Jones is Principal Scientist in Biometrology and NPL Strategy Lead for Quantum Technologies for Life Sciences and Health. His research interests focus on sensory biology, investigating how biomolecules respond to light and magnetic fields and using this to inform the development of new measurement methods, including advanced optical spectroscopy, non-linear imaging, optogenetics, and quantum technologies. He applies these modalities to a range of areas of national priority, such as biological drug/therapy development, biomedical imaging and diagnostics, and engineering biology.
He has previously held Colt Foundation PhD (Leicester) and Postdoctoral (Manchester) Fellowships and was the first Research Fellow in Photon Science at the School of Chemistry, Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, and Photon Science Institute at The University of Manchester. In 2015, Alex received the European Society for Photobiology Young Investigator Award. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry and Trustee and Scientific Advisor to the occupational and environmental health charity, The Colt Foundation.
He has a programme of public outreach lectures and his expertise has been featured in the national media, such as The Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, NHS Choices, BBC Futures website, The Independent, The Scientist magazine, and the Physics World podcast.
Alex is an active campaigner for improved diversity in science. He is currently a Trustee of the Daphne Jackson Trust and Chairs their Awards Assessment sub-Panel for Engineering and the Physical Sciences.
Featured Publications
The essential elements of radical pair-based magnetosensitivity in flies, Bradlaugh A., …, Jones A. R., et al. Nature 2023, 615, 111–116
Highlighter: An optogenetic system for high-resolution gene expression control in plants, Larsen B., …, Jones A.R., Jones A.M.* PLoS Biology 2023, 21(9): e3002303
Chromophore-binding and domain assembly in the B12-dependent photoreceptor protein, CarH, Camacho I. S., …, and Jones A. R.* Chem. Sci. 2021, 12, 8333-8341
Quantum biology: an update and perspective, Kim Y. et al. Quantum Reports 2021, 3 (1), 80-126
Native Mass Spectrometry Reveals the Conformational Diversity of the UVR8 Photoreceptor, Camacho I. S., Theisen A., Johannissen L. O., Díaz-Ramos L. A. Christie J. M., Jenkins G. I., Bellina B.* Barran P.*and Jones A. R.* Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2019, 116(4), 1116-1125
A green light-responsive system for the control of transgene expression in mammalian and plant cells, Chatelle C., …, Jones A. R., …, Zurbriggen M. D.,* and Weber W.* ACS Synth. Biol., 2018, 7, 1349-1358
Magnetic fields modulate blue light-dependent regulation of neuronal firing by cryptochrome Giachello, C., …, Jones, A. R.*, & Baines, R. A.* J. Neurosci. 2016, 36(42), 10742–10749
The photochemical mechanism of a coenzyme B12-dependent photoreceptor protein, Kutta R. J., …, and Jones A. R.* Nat. Commun. 2015, 6:7907, DOI: 10.1038/ncomms890
Links: ResearchGate; Google Scholar
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