Alex Webb

Professor Alex Webb is a leading researcher in plant circadian biology at the University of Cambridge, where he serves as Head of the Circadian Signal Transduction Group within the Department of Plant Sciences, School of the Biological Sciences. His research focuses on understanding how plants measure time through their circadian clock and how this timing mechanism regulates physiology and enhances plant growth and productivity.

Dr. Webb's research interests center on the molecular mechanisms of the plant circadian clock, with particular emphasis on calcium signaling pathways, metabolic regulation by sugars, and the integration of environmental cues. His group has made groundbreaking discoveries showing how circadian oscillations of cytosolic calcium regulate the clock and how photosynthetic sugars entrain the circadian oscillator. His work demonstrates that the circadian clock significantly enhances plant growth, photosynthesis, and stress tolerance.

His recent publications reveal trends toward translating fundamental circadian biology into agricultural applications, particularly in wheat, with research on chronoculture (harnessing circadian rhythms to improve crop yield and sustainability). His work spans molecular, physiological, systems, and computational approaches to understand how the circadian clock is incorporated into cellular biology.

• Membre Assocé Académie royale de Belgique

Professor Webb teaches across multiple Natural Sciences Tripos courses at Cambridge, including lectures on intracellular signaling, plant and microbial sciences, and plant signaling networks. His group actively recruits PhD students and postdoctoral researchers, and he maintains collaborations with institutions including the National Institute of Agricultural Botany and BASF in Ghent, Belgium, to translate fundamental findings into improved wheat varieties.