Professor Huw Jones

Huw D Jones is Professor of Translational Genomics for Plant Breeding at IBERS Aberystwyth University. His research applies biotechnology approaches to study functional genomics in cereals with a current focus on gene editing. He also has interests in plant tissue culture, chloroplast transformation, RNAi and in validating promoters for targeting expression to pre-defined tissues. As a university academic he collaborates widely and has published over 110 research papers, books and other articles in plant molecular genetics and biotechnology.

In addition to his research and teaching interests he has expertise in risk assessment and food safety. He is a member of the Defra committee ACRE (Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment), the Aberystwyth University GM safety committee and served on the GMO panel of European Food Safety Authority from 2009-2018, the last two years as vice-chair. He has also co-authored over 150 scientific risk assessment opinions and guidance documents for EFSA.

Professor Jones has an MSc (Biotechnology), a PhD (Molecular Biology and Intracellular Signalling) from Bristol University and was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Society of Biology (FRSB) in 2002. He has experience of chairing expert groups such as the EFSA GMO panel, the UK Plant Sciences Federation Working Group on Regulatory Frameworks and sessions on safety of genome editing at the OECD Conference Paris, June 2018. He is a member of the management board and working group leader of the iPLANTA EU COST Action (CA15223 Modifying plants to produce interfering RNA) and a member of the PlantEd EU COST Action (CA18111 Genome editing in plants - a technology with transformative potential).

Professor Jones joined the ACNFP in May 2019.

Register of interests

An up-to-date record of member interests can be found on the register of interests page.