Professor Arwyn Jones

Professor of Membrane Traffic and Drug Delivery, and Director of Research & Engagement

School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

: Welsh speaking
: Available for postgraduate supervision

I joined the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cardiff University as a lecturer in 2001 and now serve as Professor of Membrane Traffic and Drug Delivery and in 2018 I became the Director of Research Innovation and Engagement for the School. Previously I gained my PhD in protein biochemistry and crystallography at Birkbeck College, University of London, and undertook postdoctoral positions investigating membrane traffic on the endocytic pathway at the Physiological Laboratory, University of Liverpool and the Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA.

In 2000 I was awarded a European Molecular Biology Organisation Fellowship to work at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany and continued at the EMBL when I was awarded an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Scholarship.

I have a keen interest in the public understanding of science, especially through the medium of Welsh, and in 2001 was awarded a Diploma in Journalism from the University of Wales Bangor. Since then I have been very active in science outreach activities and have organised several large science exhibitions at the National Eisteddfod of Wales - see below for Public Engagement with Science.

I am a member of the School's research themes:

I have a major interest in endocytosis and cellular delivery of therapeutic macromolecules. My current projects fall under the overall themes of regulation of endocytosis and endocytic pathways:

Targeting and endocytosis of plasma membrane receptors
Polymeric conjugates as drug delivery vectors
Cell penetrating peptides as drug delivery vectors
Breast cancer cell biology

Public engagement with science

I am very active in public engagement in science, and have gained funding from both the Wellcome Trust and EPSRC to set up large public engagement activities. I regularly contribute to BBC, S4C and Radio Cymru news programmes and am also engaged in discussing other aspects of science on TV and radio. I also visit local schools and colleges to showcase science. Here are some outreach highlights:

In 2010 and 2011 I led a Public Engagement project sponsored by the EPSRC to highlight the multidisciplinary science involved in, and potential of, tissue engineering. This £55K Partnership for Public Engagement Award "Tissue Engineering for Human Healing" was obtained with Dr Bob Steadman (MEDIC) and Dr Pete Griffiths (CHEMY) and involved setting up tissue engineering exhibits and activities at various locations in Wales and was launched at the 2010 National Eisteddfod of Wales in Ebbw Vale. Included there, and in the following year at the National Eisteddfod in Wrexham, were a wide range of interactive and educational activities housed in the Eisteddfod Science Pavilion. These included a life sized Operation game, maggot races and a Stem Cell puzzle. The Stem Cell puzzle will now be a regular feature at the Techniquest science centre in Cardiff Bay.

Visit our Pharmacy Engagement Activities Blog

Date
Type

2024

Rizzo, S., Varache, M., Sayers, E. J., Jones, A. T., Tonks, A., Thomas, D. W. and Ferguson, E. L. 2024. Modification of the antibiotic, colistin, with dextrin causes enhanced cytotoxicity and triggers apoptosis in myeloid leukemia. International Journal of Nanomedicine 19, pp. 5419-5437. (10.2147/IJN.S449185)
Varache, M. et al. 2024. Dextrin conjugation to colistin inhibits its toxicity, cellular uptake and acute kidney injury in vivo. RSC Pharmaceutics 1, pp. 68-79. (10.1039/D3PM00014A)

2023

Hunter, M. R. et al. 2023. Understanding Intracellular Biology to Improve mRNA Delivery by Lipid Nanoparticles. small methods, article number: 2201695. (10.1002/smtd.202201695)
Lambourne, O. A. et al. 2023. PINK1-Dependent mitophagy inhibits elevated ubiquitin phosphorylation caused by mitochondrial damage. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 66(11), pp. 7645-7656. (10.1021/acs.jmedchem.3c00555)
Birch, D., Sayers, E. J., Christensen, M. V., Jones, A. T., Franzyk, H. and Nielsen, H. M. 2023. Stereoisomer-dependent membrane association and capacity for insulin delivery facilitated by Penetratin. Pharmaceutics 15(6), article number: 1672. (10.3390/pharmaceutics15061672)
Daniele, R. et al. 2023. Influence of folate-targeted gold nanoparticles on subcellular localization and distribution into lysosomes. Pharmaceutics 15(3), article number: 864. (10.3390/pharmaceutics15030864)

2022

Griffiths, G., Gruenberg, J., Marsh, M., Wohlmann, J., Jones, A. T. and Parton, R. G. 2022. Nanoparticle entry into cells; the cell biology weak link. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 188, article number: 114403. (10.1016/j.addr.2022.114403)
Allemann, R. K., Samperio, R., Mart, R., Luk, L., Tsai, Y., Jones, A. and Cruz Samperio, R. 2022. Spatio-temporal control of cell death by selective delivery of photo-activatable proteins. ChemBioChem 23(12), article number: e202200115. (10.1002/cbic.202200115)
Aikman, B. et al. 2022. Highly-fluorescent BODIPY-functionalised metallacages as drug delivery systems: synthesis, characterisation and cellular accumulation studies. Dalton Transactions 51(19), pp. 7476-7490. (10.1039/D2DT00337F)
Sayers, E. J., Palmer, I., Hope, L., Hope, P., Watson, P. and Jones, A. T. 2022. Fluid-phase endocytosis and lysosomal degradation of bovine lactoferrin in lung cells. Pharmaceutics 14(4), article number: 855. (10.3390/pharmaceutics14040855)
Sayers, E. J., Barlow, V. L., Tsai, Y. and Jones, A. T. 2022. Quantitative subcellular analysis of cyclic cell-penetrating peptide EJP18 in nonadherent cells. In: Cell Penetrating Peptides., Vol. 2383. Methods in Molecular Biology book series Springer, pp. 211-228., (10.1007/978-1-0716-1752-6_14)
Gurney, L., Robson, S. C., Sweeney, M., Jones, A. T. and Taggart, M. J. 2022. Strategies for peptide-mediated cargo delivery to human smooth muscle cells. In: Langel, U. ed. Cell Penetrating Peptides., Vol. 2383. Methods in Molecular Biology book series Springer, pp. 459-471., (10.1007/978-1-0716-1752-6_29)

2021

Padalino, G. et al. 2021. Anti-schistosomal activities of quinoxaline-containing compounds: From hit identification to lead optimisation. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 226, article number: 113823. (10.1016/j.ejmech.2021.113823)
Hamdy, R. et al. 2021. New bioactive fused triazolothiadiazoles as Bcl-2-targeted anticancer agents. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22(22), article number: 12272. (10.3390/ijms222212272)
Mills, E. M., Barlow, V. L., Jones, A. T. and Tsai, Y. 2021. Development of mammalian cell logic gates controlled by unnatural amino acids. Cell Reports Methods 1(6), article number: 100073. (10.1016/j.crmeth.2021.100073)
Herkert, E. et al. 2021. Roadmap on bio-nano-photonics. Journal of Optics 23(7), article number: 73001. (10.1088/2040-8986/abff94)

2016

Wymant, J., Hiscox, S., Westwell, A., Urbe, S., Clague, M. and Jones, A. T. 2016. The Role of BCA2 in the endocytic trafficking of EGFR and significance as a prognostic biomarker in cancer. Journal of Cancer 7(15), pp. 2388-2407. (10.7150/jca.15055)
Kandil, S., Wymant, J., Kariuki, B., Jones, A. T., McGuigan, C. and Westwell, A. D. 2016. Novel cis-selective and non-epimerisable C3 hydroxy azapodophyllotoxins targeting microtubules in cancer cells. European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 110, pp. 311-325. (10.1016/j.ejmech.2015.12.037)
Gurney, L. R. I., Robson, S., Jones, A. T. and Taggart, M. 2016. Use of cell penetrating peptides to treat inflammatory responses in human uterine cells. Reproductive Sciences 23, pp. 292A-292A., article number: S-073. (10.1177/1933719116641257)

2015

Moody, P. R., Sayers, E. J., Magnusson, J. P., Alexander, C., Borri, P., Watson, P. and Jones, A. T. 2015. Receptor crosslinking: a general method to trigger internalization and lysosomal targeting of therapeutic receptor: ligand complexes. Molecular Therapy 23(12), pp. 1888-1898. (10.1038/mt.2015.178)
Lemmer, Y. et al. 2015. Mycolic acids, a promising mycobacterial ligand for targeting of nanoencapsulated drugs in tuberculosis. Journal of Controlled Release 211, pp. 94-104. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2015.06.005)
Cilibrasi, V., Tsang, K. Y. I., Morelli, M., Solfa, F., Wiggins, H., Jones, A. T. and Westwell, A. D. 2015. Synthesis of substituted carbamo(dithioperoxo)thioates as potential BCA2-inhibitory anticancer agents. Tetrahedron Letters 56(20), pp. 2583-2585. (10.1016/j.tetlet.2015.03.132)
Bahnsen, J. S., Franzyk, H., Sayers, E. J. and Jones, A. T. 2015. Cell-penetrating antimicrobial peptides - prospectives for targeting intracellular infections. Pharmaceutical Research 32(5), pp. 1546-1556. (10.1007/s11095-014-1550-9)
Pereira, P. et al. 2015. siRNA inhibition of endocytic pathways to characterize the cellular uptake mechanisms of folate functionalized glycol chitosan nanogels. Molecular Pharmaceutics 12(6), pp. 1970-1979., article number: 150416105321008. (10.1021/mp500785t)
Wiggins, H. L., Wymant, J. M., Solfa, F., Hiscox, S. E., Taylor, K. M., Westwell, A. D. and Jones, A. T. 2015. Disulfiram-induced cytotoxicity and endo-lysosomal sequestration of zinc in breast cancer cells. Biochemical Pharmacology 93(3), pp. 332-342. (10.1016/j.bcp.2014.12.014)
Webber, J. P. et al. 2015. Differentiation of tumour-promoting stromal myofibroblasts by cancer exosomes. Oncogene 34(3), pp. 290-302. (10.1038/onc.2013.560)
He, L., Watson, P. D. and Jones, A. T. 2015. Visualizing actin architectures in cells incubated with cell-penetrating peptides. In: Langel, U. ed. Cell-Penetrating Peptides: Methods and Protocols., Vol. 1324. Methods in Molecular Biology Vol. 1324. Springer, pp. 247-259., (10.1007/978-1-4939-2806-4_16)

2014

Sayers, E. J., Cleal, K., Eissa, N. G., Watson, P. D. and Jones, A. T. 2014. Distal phenylalanine modification for enhancing cellular delivery of fluorophores, proteins and quantum dots by cell penetrating peptides. Journal of Controlled Release 195, pp. 55-62. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2014.07.055)

2013

Kothayer, H. et al. 2013. Design, synthesis and in vitro anticancer evaluation of 4,6-diamino-1,3,5-triazine-2-carbohydrazides and -carboxamides. Biorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 23(24), pp. 6886-6889. (10.1016/j.bmcl.2013.09.087)
Mart, R. J. et al. 2013. BH3 helix-derived biophotonic nanoswitches regulate cytochrome c release in permeabilised cells. Molecular BioSystems 9(11), pp. 2597-2603. (10.1039/c3mb70246d)
Hamdy, R. et al. 2013. Synthesis and evaluation of 3-(benzylthio)-5-(1H-indol-3-yl)-1,2,4-triazol-4-amines as Bcl-2 inhibitory anticancer agents. Biorganic and Medicinal Chemistry Letters 23(8), pp. 2391-2394. (10.1016/j.bmcl.2013.02.029)
Cleal, K., He, L., Watson, P. D. and Jones, A. T. 2013. Endocytosis, intracellular traffic and fate of cell penetrating peptide based conjugates and nanoparticles. Current Pharmaceutical Design 19(16), pp. 2878-2894. (10.2174/13816128113199990297)

2012

Jones, A. T. and Sayers, E. J. 2012. Cell entry of cell penetrating peptides and tales of tails wagging dogs. Journal of Controlled Release 161(2), pp. 582-591. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.04.003)
Al Soraj, M. et al. 2012. siRNA and pharmacological inhibition of endocytic pathways to characterize the differential role of macropinocytosis and the actin cytoskeleton on cellular uptake of dextran and cationic cell penetrating peptides octaarginine (R8) and HIV-Tat. Journal of Controlled Release 161(1), pp. 132-141. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2012.03.015)
Bailey, D. et al. 2012. An analysis of subdomain orientation, conformational change and disorder in relation to crystal packing of aspartic proteinases. Acta Crystallographica Section D: Biological Crystallography 68(5), pp. 541-552. (10.1107/S0907444912004817)

2011

Watkins, C. L., Sayers, E. J., Allender, C. J., Barrow, D. A., Fegan, C. D., Brennan, P. and Jones, A. T. 2011. Co-operative membrane disruption between cell-penetrating peptide and cargo: implications for the therapeutic use of the Bcl-2 converter peptide D-NuBCP-9-r8. Molecular Therapy 19(12), pp. 2124-2132. (10.1038/mt.2011.175)
Vercauteren, D. et al. 2011. Dynamic colocalization microscopy to characterize intracellular trafficking of nanomedicines. ACS Nano 5(10), pp. 7874-7884. (10.1021/nn2020858)
Vercauteren, D. et al. 2011. Flotillin-dependent endocytosis and a phagocytosis-like mechanism for cellular internalization of disulfide-based poly(amido amine)/DNA polyplexes. Biomaterials 32(11), pp. 3072-3084. (10.1016/j.biomaterials.2010.12.045)
Fricke, T. et al. 2011. Chemical synthesis of cell-permeable apoptotic peptides from in vivo produced proteins. Bioconjugate Chemistry 22(9), pp. 1763-1767. (10.1021/bc200338u)

2010

Fricke, T., Mart, R. J., Watkins, C. L., Jones, A. T. and Allemann, R. K. 2010. Click chemistry for the generation of cell permeable apoptotic peptides. Drug Discovery Today 15(23-24), pp. 1088-1088. (10.1016/j.drudis.2010.09.375)
Sweeney, M., Watkins, C. L., Jones, A. T. and Taggart, M. J. 2010. Octaarginine mediated delivery of fluorescent cargo to human smooth muscle cells. Drug Discovery Today 15(23-24), pp. 1085-1085. (10.1016/j.drudis.2010.09.367)
Gumbleton, M. and Jones, A. T. 2010. Cellular delivery of therapeutic macromolecules (CDTM) international Symposium 2010: lessons and progress from inter-disciplinary science. Drug Discovery Today 15(23-24), pp. 1079-180. (10.1016/j.drudis.2010.10.010)
Al-Soraj, M. H., Watkins, C. L., Vercauteren, D., De Smedt, S., Braeckmans, K. and Jones, A. T. 2010. siRNA versus pharmacological inhibition of endocytic pathways for studying cellular uptake of cell penetrating peptides and other drug delivery vectors. Drug Discovery Today 15(23-24), pp. 1103-1103. (10.1016/j.drudis.2010.09.411)
Vercauteren, D. et al. 2010. The use of inhibitors to study endocytic pathways of gene carriers: Optimization and pitfalls. Molecular Therapy 18(3), pp. 561-569. (10.1038/mt.2009.281)
Bruyere, H., Westwell, A. and Jones, A. T. 2010. Tuning the pH sensitivities of orthoester based compounds for drug delivery applications by simple chemical modification. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters 20(7), pp. 2200-2203. (10.1016/j.bmcl.2010.02.035)
Jones, A. T. 2010. Uptake and intracellular dynamics of proteins internalized by cell-penetrating peptides. In: Weissig, V. and D'Souza, G. G. M. eds. Organelle-Specific Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology. Hoboken, NJ.: John Wiley & Sons, pp. 263-288., (10.1002/9780470875780.ch15)

2009

Watkins, C. L., Brennan, P., Fegan, C. D., Takayama, K., Nakase, I., Futaki, S. and Jones, A. T. 2009. Cellular uptake, distribution and cytotoxicity of the hydrophobic cell penetrating peptide sequence PFVYLI linked to the proapoptotic domain peptide PAD. Journal of Controlled Release 140(3), pp. 237-244. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2009.04.028)
Hughes, M. L., John, D. N. and Jones, A. T. 2009. Information provided with dispensed medicines: What role does language choice play? A perspective from Wales [Abstract]. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice 17(S2), pp. B44-B45. (10.1211/096176709789037128)
Hughes, M. L., John, D. N., Jones, A. T., Jones, E. and Wilkins, M. L. 2009. Language issues in the community pharmacy: a perspective from Wales. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice 17(3), pp. 157-163. (10.1211/ijpp.17.03.0006)
Hughes, M. L., John, D. N. and Jones, A. T. 2009. Medicines use reviews and language choice. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice 17(s1), pp. A41. (10.1211/096176709787640689)
Watkins, C. L., Schmaljohann, D., Futaki, S. and Jones, A. T. 2009. Low concentration thresholds of plasma membranes for rapid energy-independent translocation of a cell-penetrating peptide. Biochemical Journal 420(2), pp. 179-189. (10.1042/BJ20090042)
Jin, J. and Jones, A. T. 2009. The pH sensitive probe 5-(and-6)-carboxyl seminaphthorhodafluor is a substrate for the multidrug resistance-related protein MRP1. International Journal of Cancer 124(1), pp. 233-238. (10.1002/ijc.23892)

2008

Kosuge, M., Takeuchi, T., Nakase, I., Jones, A. and Futaki, S. 2008. Cellular internalization and distribution of arginine-rich peptides as a function of extracellular peptide concentration, serum, and plasma membrane associated proteoglycans. Bioconjugate Chemistry 19(3), pp. 656-664. (10.1021/bc700289w)
Jin, J., Pastrello, D., Penning, N. A. and Jones, A. T. 2008. Clustering of endocytic organelles in parental and drug-resistant myeloid leukaemia cell lines lacking centrosomally organised microtubule arrays. The International Journal of Biochemistry & Cell Biology 40(10), pp. 2240-2252. (10.1016/j.bioce1.2008.03.004)
Jones, A. T. 2008. Gateways and tools for drug delivery: Endocytic pathways and the cellular dynamics of cell penetrating peptides. International Journal of Pharmaceutics 354(1-2), pp. 34-38. (10.1016/j.ijpharm.2007.10.046)
Hughes, M. L., John, D. N. and Jones, A. T. 2008. The role of the Welsh language in community pharmacy service provision in Wales. London: Pharmacy Practice Research Trust.

2007

McGuigan, C. et al. 2007. Preclinical development of bicyclic nucleoside analogues as potent and selective inhibitors of varicella zoster virus. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy 60(6), pp. 1316-1330. (10.1093/jac/dkm376)
Jones, A. T. 2007. Enclocytic pathways: gateways for intracellular drug delivery [Abstract]. Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology 59(S1), pp. A72., article number: 195. (10.1211/002235707781850023)
Fretz, M. M. et al. 2007. Temperature-, concentration- and cholesterol-dependent translocation of L- and D-octa-arginine across the plasma and nuclear membrane of CD34+ leukaemia cells. Biochemical Journal 403(2), pp. 335-342. (10.1042/BJ20061808)
Futaki, S., Nakase, I., Taclokoro, A., Takeuchi, T. and Jones, A. T. 2007. Arginine-rich peptides and their internalization mechanisms. Biochemical Society Transactions 35(4), pp. 784-787.
Greco, F., Vicent, M. J., Gee, S., Jones, A. T., Gee, J. M. W., Nicholson, R. I. and Duncan, R. 2007. Investigating the mechanism of enhanced cytotoxicity of HPMA copolymer-Dox-AGM in breast cancer cells. Journal of Controlled Release 117(1), pp. 28-39. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2006.10.012)
Jones, A. T. 2007. Macropinocytosis: searching for an endocytic identity and role in the uptake of cell penetrating peptides. Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine 11(4), pp. 670-684. (10.1111/j.1582-4934.2007.00062.x)
Maiti, K. K. et al. 2007. Guanidine-containing molecular transporters: Sorbitol-based transporters show high intracellular selectivity toward mitochondria. Angewandte Chemie International Edition 46(31), pp. 5880-5884. (10.1002/anie.200701346)
Manunta, M., Izzo, L., Duncan, R. and Jones, A. T. 2007. Establishment of subcellular fractionation techniques to monitor the intracellular fate of polymer therapeutics II. Identification of endosomal and lysosomal compartments in HepG2 cells combining single-step subcellular fractionation with fluorescent imaging. Journal of Drug Targeting 15(1), pp. 37-50. (10.1080/10611860601010330)
Peeters, L., Jones, A. T., Demeester, J., De Smedt, S. and Sanders, N. 2007. Post-PEGylated lipoplexes are promising vehicles for gene delivery in RPE cells. Human Gene Therapy 18(10), pp. 1046-1047.
Peeters, L., Sanders, N. N., Jones, A. T., Demeester, J. and De Smedt, S. C. 2007. Post-pegylated lipoplexes are promising vehicles for gene delivery in RPE cells. Journal of Controlled Release 121(3), pp. 208-217. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2007.05.033)
Seib, F. P., Jones, A. T. and Duncan, R. 2007. Comparison of the endocytic properties of linear and branched PEIs, and cationic PAMAM dendrimers in B16f10 melanoma cells. Journal of Controlled Release 117(3), pp. 291-300. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2006.10.020)

2006

Berna, M. et al. 2006. Novel monodisperse PEG-dendrons as new tools for targeted drug delivery: Synthesis, characterisation and cellular uptake. Biomacromolecules 7(1), pp. 146-153. (10.1021/bm050480s)
Fretz, M. M. et al. 2006. Effects of Na+/H+ exchanger inhibitors on subcellular localisation of endocytic organelles and intracellular dynamics of protein transduction domains HIV-TAT peptide and octaarginine. Journal of Controlled Release 116(2), pp. 247-254. (10.1016/j.jconrel.2006.07.009)
Al-Taei, S., Penning, N. A., Simpson, J. C., Futaki, S., Takeuchi, T., Nakase, I. and Jones, A. T. 2006. Intracellular traffic and fate of protein transduction domains HIV-1 TAT peptide and octaarginine. Implications for their utilization as drug delivery vectors. Bioconjugate Chemistry 17(1), pp. 90-100. (10.1021/bc050274h)
Seib, F. P., Jones, A. T. and Duncan, R. 2006. Establishment of subcellular fractionation techniques to monitor the intracellular fate of polymer therapeutics I. Differential centrifugation fractionation B16F10 cells and use to study the intracellular fate of HPMA copolymer-doxorubicin. Journal of drug targeting 14(6), pp. 375-390. (10.1080/10611860600833955)

2005

Hughes, M. L., John, D. N., Jones, A. T., Wilkins, M. L. and Jones, E. H. 2005. Patients' views on use of the Welsh language in community pharmacy: an exploratory study. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice 13(s1), pp. R93. (10.1211/096176705777341217/pdf)
Hughes, M. L., John, D. N. and Jones, A. T. 2005. Exploring the role of the Welsh language in community pharmacy: the professionals' views. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice 13(s1), pp. R94. (10.1211/096176705777341217/pdf)
Watson, P. D., Jones, A. T. and Stephens, D. J. 2005. Intracellular trafficking pathways and drug delivery: fluorescence imaging of living and fixed cells. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 57(1), pp. 43-61. (10.1016/j.addr.2004.05.003)
Simpson, J. C. and Jones, A. T. 2005. Early endocytic Rabs: functional prediction to functional characterization. In: McIlhinney, J. and Hooper, N. eds. Biochemical Society Symposia Volume 72: Lipids, Rafts and Traffic. Portland Press, pp. 99-108.

2004

Nakase, I. et al. 2004. Cellular uptake of arginine-rich peptides: roles for macropinocytosis and actin rearrangement. Molecular Therapy 10(6), pp. 1011-22. (10.1016/j.ymthe.2004.08.010)
Simpson, J. C., Griffiths, G., Wessling-Resnick, M., Fransen, J. A. M., Bennett, H. and Jones, A. T. 2004. A role for the small GTPase Rab21 in the early endocytic pathway. Journal of cell science 117(26), pp. 6297-6311. (10.1242/jcs.01560)

2003

Jones, A. T., Gumbleton, M. and Duncan, R. 2003. Understanding endocytic pathways and intracellular trafficking: a prerequisite for effective design of advanced drug delivery systems. Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 55(11), pp. 1353-1367. (10.1016/j.addr.2003.07.002)

2001

Jones, A. T. 2001. Intracellular drug delivery. Workshop teport from the 28th International Symposium on Controlled Release of Bioactive Materials, San Diego, 23-24 June 2001. Traffic 2(12), pp. 917-920. (10.1034/j.1600-0854.2001.21207.x)

1998

Jones, A. T., Mills, I. G., Scheidig, A. J., Alexandrov, K. and Clague, M. J. 1998. Inhibition of endosome fusion by wortmannin persists in the presence of activated rab5. Molecular Biology of the Cell 9(2), pp. 323-332. (10.1091/mbc.9.2.323)
Jones, A. T. and Wessling-Resnick, M. 1998. Inhibition of in vitro endosomal vesicle fusion activity by aminoglycoside antibiotics. Journal of Biological Chemistry 273(39), pp. 25301-25309. (10.1074/jbc.273.39.25301)

1997

Jones, A. T. and Clague, M. J. 1997. Regulation of early endosome fusion by phospholipase D activity. Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 236(2), pp. 285-288. (10.1006/bbrc.1997.6962)
Gaffet, P., Jones, A. T. and Clague, M. J. 1997. Inhibition of calcium-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor incorporation into trans-Golgi network-derived clathrin-coated vesicles by wortmannin. Journal of Biological Chemistry 272(39), pp. 24170-24175. (10.1074/jbc.272.39.24170)

Latest research and engagement news

New PhD position: Development of new therapeutic entities targeting glycosylation disorders! If you are interested in working on Prof. Jones' exciting project, please see click HERE. The closing date for applications is 30 Nov 2021.

On 2 March 2020 Arwyn Jones spoke at the MediWales Showcase Members Event in Cardiff, highlighting the Cardiff CALIN team and technologies offered to SMEs in Wales.

We are pleased to report on our most recent publication in the January 2020 issue of the Biochemical Journal describing a newly discovered cell penetrating peptide termed EJP18 that originates from the juxtamembrane region of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor. See figure 2 (in "images") for predicted structure.

In December Arwyn Jones presented the Keynote lecture at the 4th International Conference on Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology/Nanomedicine, Jakarta, Indonesia and pictured in the "images" section with the conference organisers.

School of Pharmacy and investigative journalists analyse and discuss SARMs in supplements used by bodybuilders. Professor Jones and Dr Pertusati were invited to contribute to a news item from S4C about the harmful effects certain chemicals used in supplements can have on the human body.

Arwyn Jones has been invited to join the Controlled Release Societies Gene Delivery and Editing Group and looks forward to interacting with scientists across the globe with mutual interest in delivering nucleotides into cells.

Research interests

Research projects in my lab fall under themes of cell biology and endocytosis, concentrating on linking fundamental endocytosis research to the remit of cellular delivery of small molecule and macromolecular therapeutics:

Characterisation of endocytic pathways utilised by therapeutic macromolecules to gain access into cells
Studying the mechanism of entry of cell penetrating peptides (CPP) and CPP-conjugates
Designing new polymer -conjugates for cellular delivery of therapeutic macromolecule
Utilising subcellular fractionation for analysis of endocytosis and intracellular traffic of therapeutic macromolecules.
Characterising roles for endocytic pathways in mediating multidrug resistance in cancer cells
Design and manufacture of microarray surfaces for multi-image analysis of biological specimens.

Current Research Group

Endocytic pathways and the cellular delivery of therapeutic macromolecules

Endocytosis encompasses highly complex and dynamic processes that cells use for example to allow entry of extracellular material and to downregulate cell surface receptors. The utilisation of these pathways for uptake and intracellular delivery of therapeutic macromolecules offers much potential for intervention of diseases such as cancer. However, the effectiveness of this approach is constrained by the fact that the fate of the therapeutic within one of these pathways is predetermined by the dynamics of the pathway and biological barriers posed by endocytic membranes. A major objective of the laboratory is to better understand endocytic pathways of cells, to utilise specific pathways for cellular delivery of therapeutic macromolecules and to design novel drug delivery vectors for enhancing cytosolic delivery of therapeutics.

Ongoing projects include:

Pharmacological and molecular manipulation of endocytic pathways to characterise cellular uptake of therapeutic macromolecules
Characterising the transduction capacities of cell penetrating peptides across biological membranes and their potential as vectors for cellular delivery of therapeutic molecules
Polymer conjugates as vectors for cellular delivery of therapeutic macromolecules
Characterising the uptake of nanoparticles targeting tuberculosis in macrophages.

Collaboration

The group has strong local, national and international collaboration with academia and industry.

Arwyn Jones is currently lead Cardiff University academic on CALIN, The Celtic Advanced Life Science Innovation Network. This is a €11.96 million, 4-year, Ireland-Wales funded programme bringing innovation, jobs and growth to Ireland and Wales.

Professor Jones was lead academic scientist covering cell binding, an uptake on a €27M European consortium involving 16 academic partners and 6 major pharmaceutical companies. (2012-2017).

Arwyn is also a member of the following national and international networks:

2018-2022: COST- European cooperation in Science and Technology Delivery of RNA therapy.

2017: CBTDDC - Children’s Brain Tumour Drug Delivery Consortium.

2018-2021: FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portuguese). Manipulation of cathepsins and their inhibitors cystatins in human macrophages as a host directed therapeutic strategy for tuberculosis and co-infection with HIV.

Recent Invited Lectures at International Meetings

2021    OLIGO 2021 Oxford, UK
2020    Drug Delivery and Formulation (DDF) Summit Berlin Germany
2019    Keynote Speaker 4th International Conference on Pharmaceutical Nanotechnology/Nanomedicine, Jakarta, Indonesia
2019    14th Chemistry and Biology of Peptides Meeting, University of Wolverhampton, UK
2018    Keynote Speaker 12th World Drug Delivery Summit, Chicago
2018    Frontiers in Delivery of Therapeutics, University of Tartu, Estonia
2018    APS Nanomedicine for the Delivery of Biologics Symposium, Reading, UK
2018    Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Research Conference: New Technologies Advancing Toward a One-Time Cure. Snow King Resort, Jackson, Wyoming USA.
2018    12th International Symposium on Polymer Therapeutics. Valencia, Spain
2017    F-Tales Nanomaterials in Biomedical Sciences Meeting, Ghent, Belgium
2017    Keynote Speaker Global Conference on Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery systems (PDDS), Valencia, Spain.
2017    Keynote Speaker 10th International Conference and Exhibition on Pharmaceutics and Novel Drug Delivery Systems, London

PH1121 Molecule to patient
PH1122 The role of the pharmacist in professional practice
PH2110 Clinical & professional pharmacy
PH3110 Optimisation of pharmaceutical care
PH3202 Research methodology
PH4116 Pharmacy research or scholarship project
PH4118 Pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacy practice and the patient

External

Lectures on Module PHT202 on MSc/Diploma in Clinical Research course

Career profile

Arwyn gained his PhD in protein crystallography at Birkbeck College, University of London and undertook postdoctoral positions investigating membrane traffic on the endocytic pathway at the University of Liverpool and Harvard University. In 2000 he was awarded a European Molecular Biology Organization fellowship to work at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg Germany and continued at the EMBL via an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Scholarship.

In 2001 he was appointed as lecturer in the Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Cardiff University where he is now Professor in Membrane Traffic and Drug Delivery. In 2018 he became the School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences Director of Research, Innovation and Engagement

Research projects in his lab fall under themes of cancer cell biology, endocytosis and drug delivery. A major scientific objective is linking fundamental endocytosis research to better understand the cellular delivery of drug delivery vectors including antibodies targeting plasma membrane receptors and cell penetrating peptides. He actively collaborates with a number of national and international groups including his recent strong involvement with CALIN, an €11.96 million, 4-year, Ireland-Wales funded programme bringing innovation, jobs and growth to Ireland and Wales, and COMPACT (2012-2017), an academic/industrial drug delivery consortium collaborating on the Optimisation of Macromolecular Pharmaceutical Access to Cellular Targets.

He has a keen interest in the public understanding of science and in 2001 was awarded a BBC sponsored Diploma in Journalism from Bangor University. Since then he has been very active in public engagement with science at local and national levels and has organised several large Science exhibitions at the National Eisteddfod of Wales.

Professional memberships

Editorial board of the Journal of Controlled Release, Membranes and Gwerddon
Member of Cardiff Institute for Tissue Engineering and Repair (CITER).
Member of the UK Biochemical Society and the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCB)

Committees and reviewing

Research Innovation and Engagement Committee

Current supervision

Carwyn Hughes

Research student

Saeed Tayeb

Research student

Contact Details

JonesAT@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 29208 76431

Research on Wales’ most pressing challenges to be showcased at National Eisteddfod

Professor Arwyn Jones

Overview

Public engagement with science

Publication

2024

2023

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017