Gary Jones

Professor Gary Jones is a faculty member at Leeds Beckett University, serving as Professor and Director of Research & Knowledge Exchange in the School of Health's Centre for Biomedical Science Research. He joined Leeds Beckett in February 2016 after holding academic and postdoctoral positions at Maynooth University, National Institutes of Health, University College London and Swansea University.

Education:

• BSc (Hons) Genetics - University of Liverpool
• PhD - University of Liverpool

Research Focus: Professor Jones's research centers on understanding cellular stress responses using lower eukaryotic organisms, particularly yeast and fungi. His work encompasses two major areas: (1) investigating the role of Hsp70 protein in cellular stress responses and protein folding mechanisms, with implications for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and (2) developing novel therapeutic strategies against pathogenic fungi, especially Aspergillus fumigatus, which causes invasive aspergillosis in immunocompromised patients.

Research Methodology: His multidisciplinary approach incorporates molecular biology, genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, biophysics, computational biology, genomics, proteomics and mass spectrometry. He has established extensive international collaborations with researchers in Ireland, France, Spain, China and the USA.

Current Projects: Specific ongoing work includes studying post-translational modifications (phosphorylation and acetylation) of Hsp70 and their effects on cellular function, as well as investigating gliotoxin production in A. fumigatus as a potential therapeutic target.

Publications: Professor Jones has published extensively in high-impact journals including Cell, PNAS, PLOS Genetics, Nucleic Acids Research and Genome Research. His recent work demonstrates a consistent focus on Hsp70 chaperone mechanisms, fungal pathogenesis, and antimicrobial strategies against Aspergillus species.

Research Supervision: He has an excellent track record of successfully graduating PhD students and providing high-quality research supervision for both PhD and MSc (by research) programs.

Contact Information:
Email: Gary.Jones@leedsbeckett.ac.uk
Location: Portland, 309, City Campus
ORCID: 0000-0002-7565-934X