John Jones

John Jones is a Professor of Nematology in the School of Biology at the University of St Andrews, affiliated with the Biomedical Sciences Research Complex. His research focuses on plant-parasitic nematodes and their impact on crops, particularly potatoes and rice. He contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals related to food security and sustainable agriculture through his work.

As an academic editor, he serves on the editorial boards of Molecular Plant Pathology (2014–2017), PLoS ONE (2013–present), and Nematology (2007–present), ensuring rigorous peer-review and advancing scientific knowledge in these fields. His research integrates genomic, transcriptomic, and bioinformatics approaches to understand parasitism mechanisms and develop crop resistance strategies.

His key research interests include genomic characterization of plant-parasitic nematodes (Globodera, Meloidogyne), effector protein function, and the molecular basis of host resistance. He develops tools like Resistify to classify NLR genes, aiding in the identification of resistance mechanisms in Solanaceae crops.

John has secured grants from the Scottish Funding Council, including projects such as 'Preparing for National List Trials of New Potato Varieties for Kenya' (2022–2023), 'SFC GCRF 2019/20' (April 2020–July 2020), and 'SFC ODA 18/19' series (2018–2019). These projects aim to enhance crop resilience against invasive pests and improve agricultural practices in regions like Kenya.

He supervises Jasper Chippendale’s PhD research and collaborates with global institutions to advance nematology and molecular plant pathology. His datasets, including genomic studies of Globodera pallida, are archived in repositories like the European Nucleotide Archive and NCBI GenBank.