Dr Matt Jones

2021 Research Excellence Fellow, Peninsula Medical School 

Academic qualifications:
2002-2008Ph.D. Biochemistry, University of Leicester
2001-2002 M.Sc. Oncology, University of Nottingham
1998-2001 B.Sc. (Hons.) Biochemistry and Genetics, Class 2:1, University of Nottingham
Previous posts:
2012-2021 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Wellcome Centre for Cell-Matrix Research, Faculty of Biology Medicine & Health, University of Manchester
2010-2012 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY, USA
2008-2010 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Pharmacology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA 

Member of the British Society for Cell Biology

Cell BiologyExtracellular Matrix
Integrins
Tumour Microenvironment
Cell Signalling
Cell Migration
Cell Cycle

One of the key events in the evolution of multicellular organisms was the acquisition of the ability of cells to attach to their surroundings, including the network of proteins that support and surround them in tissues called the extracellular matrix (ECM). This adhesion maintains the cells in the correct place in tissues and provides signals that the cells rely on to maintain their function. 
Cells adhere to the ECM via a family of cell surface proteins called integrins. Integrins then act as point for a number of other proteins to accumulate and these complexes of proteins can form a physical link with the cell skeleton, both anchoring the cell in a specific location and facilitating cell movement. Integrin complexes also act as signalling hubs that provide information to the cell about its surroundings. In any given tissue in the human body there are hundreds of proteins that make up the ECM and 24 different integrins that all recognise specific proteins and function in different ways. Understanding how these different integrins work and control cell behaviour is therefore critical to understanding how cells function in tissues. 
My main research interest is determining how different ECM proteins and Integrins influence cell biology, with a particular focus on the cross-talk between adhesion signalling and cell-cycle progression. To achieve this we use imaging, proteomics, flow cytometry, and biochemical approaches in a range of normal and cancer cells cultured in 2D and 3D environments. 

2022 Academy of Medical Sciences, Springboard Award; Extracellular matrix regulation of cell quiescence and proliferation, £99,098
2022 Northcott Devon Medical Foundation; Defining changes in prostate stromal extracellular matrix during cancer progression and in response to androgen-deprivation therapy, £9726.
2021 Peninsula Medical School Research Excellence Fellowship; £30,000
2021 Peninsula Medical School Pump Prime Funding; £5000

2021 ARUK South West Regional Meeting, Plymouth
2020 CSUN Interdisciplinary Cancer Meeting, Los Angeles, CA, USA (Online)
2020 University of Groningen, Netherlands
2018 North of England Cell Biology Meeting, Huddersfield 
2018 CRUK Beatson Institute International Conference, Glasgow 
2014 Signalling by Adhesion Receptors Gordon Research Seminar and selected talk for main Gordon Research Conference, Lewiston, ME, USA 

As a postdoc, I co-chaired the 2015 Gordon Research Seminar: Fibronectin, Integrins and Related Molecules in Il Ciocco, Italy