Jo Hepworth

Dr. Jo Hepworth is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biosciences at Durham University, leading research on plant developmental responses to environmental signals. Her lab—the Cool Cabbage Lab—investigates how plants sense and integrate temperature information to regulate morphological changes.

Research Focus: Using Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica crops as models, Dr. Hepworth studies molecular mechanisms underlying developmental timing, stress responses, and phenotypic plasticity. Her multidisciplinary approach combines genetics, imaging, mathematical modeling, and field experiments to understand how plants adapt to changing climates.

Key Investigative Areas:

• Genetic pathways regulating flowering time under temperature variation
• Phenotypic plasticity in response to cool temperatures
• Evolutionary adaptation in crop species
• Development of phenotyping tools for stress tolerance