Rate My Professor Pete Jones

Professor Pete Jones serves as a Professor in the Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, at the University of Otago. He earned his BSc (Hons) and PhD, graduating from the University of Leeds before pursuing an early research career in Canada and subsequently joining the University of Otago. Currently, he is the co-director of HeartOtago, a collaborative research theme involving cardiovascular researchers, clinicians, and cardiothoracic surgeons who utilize human tissue to address prevalent cardiovascular diseases in Aotearoa New Zealand. Jones leads the Jones Lab, where his team investigates the molecular mechanisms underlying heart disease, arrhythmia, and skeletal muscle disease. His principal research interest lies in the control of calcium cycling within cardiac myocytes, particularly the regulation of calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum by the cardiac ryanodine receptor (RyR2). Recent extensions of this work explore RyR2-mediated calcium signaling in neurons, linking it to conditions such as seizures and Alzheimer’s disease.

Employing advanced techniques ranging from molecular biology and single-channel recordings to isolated cells, tissue preparations, whole-animal models, and patient studies, Jones characterizes physiological and pathological alterations in RyR2 activity. Notable publications include “MINFLUX microscopy resolves subunits of the cardiac ryanodine receptor and its 3D orientation in cells” with A.H. Clowsley et al. (Nature Communications, 2025), “Interplay between ryanodine receptor arrangement and function: Implications for (patho)physiological control of calcium release” with L.A. Gonano et al. (Circulation Research, 2025), and “Control of cardiac ryanodine receptor by sarcoplasmic reticulum luminal Ca2+” (Journal of General Physiology, 2017). His research is supported by grants from the Health Research Council of New Zealand, Royal Society Marsden Fund, Heart Foundation, and Neurological Foundation. Jones has delivered his Inaugural Professorial Lecture titled “Dr Jones and the calcium of doom” in August 2024 and serves as a board member of the New Zealand International Science Festival. He actively supervises postgraduate students, contributing significantly to training the next generation of researchers in cardiovascular and neuronal physiology.