Jon developed an interest in RNA biology during his PhD research on the pathogenic effects of RNA in the inherited disease Myotonic Dystrophy. However, during his time in Glasgow, first in the Barry lab and then in the Monckton and O’Dell groups, he was surrounded by work on unstable DNA and programmed recombination.
His post-doctoral research in the Tollervey lab in Edinburgh started in the biochemistry of RNA degradation, but moved steadily back towards genome alteration with studies on the roles of non-coding RNA in controlling the stability of repetitive DNA.
In 2009 Jon started a Wellcome Trust-funded research group at the Babraham Institute studying non-coding RNA biology and copy number variation. In addition to his research role, Jon became the Head of Knowledge Exchange and Commercialisation in 2021, overseeing all aspects of how the Institute works to ensure impact from its research and translation into economic and social benefit.