About
Mark Jones is a clinician scientist with a subspecialty interest in interstitial lung diseases. He is the clinical lead for the interstitial lung disease service at University Hospitals Southampton and has a broad teaching portfolio. He leads a research group investigating determinants of progressive lung fibrosis, from basic disease mechanisms to the development of new treatments, based on a programme of interdisciplinary research. His research is underpinned by strong multidisciplinary basic-translational-clinical interaction, involving multiple collaborations with other Faculties and externally with both Academia and Pharma.
Research
Research interests
- Determinants of progressive lung fibrosis
- Tissue Microenvironment
- In vitro models of human disease
Current research
Dr Jones’s research is focused on fibrotic interstitial lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis where there is significant unmet need.
Inter-disciplinary studies
Lung tissue structure is complex and heterogeneous and so is challenging to study in both health and disease. Leveraging technological advances through integrated, inter-disciplinary approaches provides the opportunity to significantly advance our understanding of complex lung diseases such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
With the µ-VIS Centre for Computed Tomography we were the first to image, in 3D, human lung fibrosis tissue at the microscale, so providing new understanding of sites of active fibrogenesis in lung fibrosis and supporting the technology development of 3D X-Ray Histology. This approach is now being applied to improve accuracy of interstitial lung disease diagnosis and identify novel classification approaches.
Through the Institute for Life Science we collaborate with colleagues in Engineering, Mathematics, and Chemistry as well as internationally to perform integrative structural and functional analyses of human lung fibrosis, applying approaches including label free imaging, atomic force microscopy, and multi-scale biomechanical testing to identify and dissect key pathogenetic mechanisms underlying progressive human lung fibrosis.
3D in vitro models of human fibrotic lung disease
There is a disconnect between increasing advances in understanding and modulating fibrosis in the experimental setting utilising animal models of fibrosis, and the very limited translation of these findings into effective treatments for patients. Informed by our inter-disciplinary human fibrosis tissue analyses we establish and validate advanced long term primary human cell-based culture models with human disease relevance for mechanistic and therapeutic targeting studies.
Dissecting determinants of progressive fibrosis
Injury to and/or dysfunction of alveolar epithelium are strongly implicated in lung fibrosis disease initiation, but what factors determine why fibrosis progresses rather than normal tissue repair occurs remain poorly understood. Current research in collaboration with colleagues in Biological Sciences is focussed upon microenvironmental determinants of this process in sarcoidosis and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, with the aim in partnership with Pharma of pharmacologically modulating aberrant fibrotic lung properties to halt progressive lung fibrosis.
Research projects
Active projects
Publications
Supervision
Current PhD Students
Teaching
Dr Jones teaches Respiratory Medicine to undergraduates and postgraduate clinicians.
BM5 Cardiopulmonary Module Respiratory Clinical Lead
BM5 Respiratory Student Selected Unit Co-ordinator
BMedSc/MMedSc Project Supervisor
BM5 examiner including ACC and OSCE
External roles and responsibilities
Biography
Mark Jones received his medical degree with honours from the University of Southampton. He trained in general medicine before specialising in Respiratory Medicine, developing a sub-speciality interest in the diagnosis and management of patients with interstitial lung diseases. He was subsequently awarded a Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellowship at the University of Southampton, undertaking a PhD with Professors Davies and Richeldi to investigate the pathogenetic role of collagen in lung fibrosis where he developed interests in human relevant in vitro models of fibrosis and the application of novel technologies to advance understanding of human lung fibrosis. As an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer he established the routine biobanking of samples from patients undergoing surgical lung biopsy for the investigation of fibrotic interstitial lung disease, forming a longitudinal cohort of patients which supported the establishment of the Southampton Lung Fibrosis Group, a multidisciplinary group of investigators studying determinants of progressive fibrotic lung diseases with the aims of developing novel approaches to disease classification, prognostic stratification, and treatment.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons), Biomedical Sciences, University of Southampton 2005
- BM (Hons), Medicine, University of Southampton 2006
- M.R.C.P., UK 2009
- PhD, University of Southampton, 2016
Appointments Held
- Academic Foundation Trainee, University Hospitals Southampton (2006-2008)
- Core Medical Trainee, Wessex Deanery (2008-2010)
- NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow in Respiratory Medicine, Wessex Deanery & University of Southampton (2010-2013)
- Wellcome Trust Clinical Research Training Fellow, University of Southampton (2013-2016)
- NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in Respiratory Medicine, University of Southampton & University Hospitals Southampton (2017-2019)
- Associate Professor and Honorary Consultant in Respiratory Medicine, University of Southampton (2019-present)
Prizes
- Scientific Merit Award (2018)