Spotlight: Matt Jones
Dr Matt Jones has been a senior lecturer in IMCSB at the University of Glasgow since August 2019. He is the Institute’s Athena SWAN champion.
My lab works to understand how plants respond to different colours of light, and we’re examining how we can manipulate these responses (using either fluctuating light or genetic engineering) to promote plant growth. This is becoming especially important with the development of vertical farming which allows crops to be grown pretty much anywhere in modified shipping containers.
So how did I get here? I’ve always been fascinated by plant science, choosing my undergrad course because the college tutor was a plant developmental biologist. After doing work experience in London (I was considering a career in intellectual property law at the time), I was lucky enough to receive a Gatsby Plant Science PhD Studentship. This allowed me to move directly from my undergrad to Glasgow, where I worked for Prof. John Christie to understand how plants perceive blue light signals.
After receiving my PhD, I moved to UC Davis in California to understand how the circadian system modulates plants’ responses to light with Prof. Stacey Harmer. I spent 4.5 years in California before moving back to the UK in 2012. I was awarded a Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship alongside a lectureship which let me begin my independent research career at the University of Essex. Essex has some great plant physiologists that I was keen to learn from (compared to my molecular photobiology background) and I developed plenty of skills during my time there.
In 2019, I had the opportunity to move back to Glasgow, and indeed back into the Bower Building. It’s great to be back amongst old friends, and the Institute as a whole has been really welcoming. I was promoted to senior lecturer in August 2020.
Moving to Glasgow with the family was more challenging than I had expected. When we moved from California we were childfree, and were able to live without furniture for two months while our belongings were shipped back. In contrast, the move to Glasgow necessitated the coordination of schools, nurseries, and house selling/buying. We arrived in Glasgow a week before the start of school and moved into our new house a few days after that. Phew! The first year in Glasgow was pretty hectic but things are now settling down again.
Outside of the lab, I have a wonderful wife and two boisterous boys (six and two) who keep me busy when I’m not alliterating. We spend the weekends running up hills (COVID permitting) to wear out the children. It’s great living in Glasgow where we can live close to work to avoid the commute, while also having access to the great outdoors.
Having children has put harder boundaries on when I’m able to work, which has helped a lot with work/life balance- earlier in my career I loved being in lab which was great for me but perhaps less so for those around me. My wife and I both had jobs on campus at Essex when the boys were younger, but the on-site nursery was great and let us juggle our work commitments. While I wouldn’t describe it as easy it’s remarkable how it was possible to settle into a new routine with both boys, although if I were to change one thing it would be to have children that slept through the night (!).
In summary, I’m grateful that I have job that feels like a hobby- even if it’s been hard work on the way. I’ve had some great mentors at each stage of my career who have taught me different values and who have helped me develop as a scientist. Looking forwards, I hope that I can be as successful as my mentors have been.
