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Matt is a photobiologist working to understand how plants integrate light signals to optimize their responses to abiotic stress. After completing his PhD under Prof. John Christie at the University of Glasgow, where he characterized the photochemical activation of the phototropin family of photoreceptors, he moved to UC Davis to investigate how the circadian system modulates plants' photosensitivity under Prof. Stacey Harmer. He identified REVEILLE1 (RVE1) and RVE8 proteins as components of the circadian system and discovered that the histone demethylase JMJD5 plays a vital role in the plant circadian system, especially under high light stress. Awarded the Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship, Matt began his independent research career at the University of Essex in September 2012, where he developed chlorophyll fluorescence techniques to document circadian rhythms in chloroplasts. His research then expanded to encompass RNA processing, transcript stability, and the metabolism of circadian timing. He has identified and characterized 3’-PhosphoAdenosine 5’-Phosphate (PAP), a stress-induced metabolite that delays gene expression. Since moving to Glasgow in 2019, the Jones lab continues to explore how plants perceive and respond to environmental changes, currently focusing on the interactions between circadian systems and light signaling pathways that promote tolerance to abiotic stresses.