Group - Alexander Jones

I am interested in understanding how plant cells and organs acquire identity and how plants adapt their development in response to other organisms. During my PhD, I studied cell differentiation and cell fate stabilization of the root ground tissue layers under the supervision of Dr. Philip Benfey at Duke University, USA (Drapek et al. 2018, Chen, Drapek et al. 2019).

Research Interests

My research interests lie in environmental regulation of plant development. I am fascinated by the diverse range morphological decisions that plants can make and the profound effects on survivability and yields that developmental plasticity brings. As phytohormones integrate environmental signals with development, in a cell and tissue specific manner, to coordinate these decisions, understanding their localisation and dynamics is essential to understanding development.

Research Interests

As a scientist I am fascinated by the plasticity of plant development and how this is regulated by both intrinsic and environmental factors. Throughout my research career I aimed to reveal how external signals such as light and temperature control plant shape, size and developmental progression – how are these signals perceived, which molecules are involved in the signalling process and how is a response to these signals generated?