Justin Jones Ph.D.
Biology
Associate Professor

Contact Information
Office Hours: Available by appointmentOffice Location: BNR 233
Phone: (435) 797-9292
Email: justin.a.jones@usu.edu
Educational Background
PhD, Biology, Utah State University, 2015 Dissertation
AQUEOUS SOLVATION METHOD FOR RECOMBINANT SPIDER SILK PROTEINS
MS, Molecular Biology, University of Wyoming, 2000 Thesis
Mechanical and structural studies of spider silk films
Biography
Dr. Justin A. Jones is an assistant professor in the Department of Biology at Utah State University. Dr. Jones received his Ph.D. degree in biology from Utah State University in 2015. He has worked with spider silk and its recombinant forms since 1998 while attending the University of Wyoming.
Teaching Interests
Protein structure/function, biomaterials, and spider silk engineering
Research Interests
Spider silk, hagfish intermediate filaments, protein structure and function relationships, structural proteins, materials science, biomaterials.
Publications | Journal Articles
Academic Journal
- Wasserman, O., Wooton, M., Fairbanks, S., Bell, B., Williams, M.F, Jones, J.A, (2025). Protocol for quantifying the thickness and puncture resistance properties of solitary bee cocoons using Osmia lignaria as a model. STAR Protocols, 6:4, 1-21. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.xpro.2025.104191
- Wasserman, O., Morley, J.J, Williams, M.F, Cox-Foster, D.L, Jones, J., (2025). An effective protocol to isolate and mechanically test silk fibers spun by Osmia lignaria Say (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) fifth instar larvae. PLOS ONE, 1-11. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318918
- Wasserman, O., Oliveira, P.F, Bell, B.E, Jefferson, S., Fairbanks, S., Watson, A., Lewis, R., Jones, J.A, (2024). Engineered Recombinant Hagfish Intermediate Filament Proteins: Unraveling Domain Roles in Synthetic Fiber Formation and Mechanics. American Chemical Society Omega, doi: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsomega.4c06950
- Bittencourt, D.d, Oliveira, P., Michalczechen-Lacerda, V.A, Rosinha, G.M, Jones, J., Filho, E.L, (2022). Bioengineering of spider silks for the production of biomedical materials. Frontiers: Bioengineering
- Jones, J., Lewis, R., (2016). Secondary Structure Adopted by the Gly-Gly-X Repetitive Regions of Dragline Spider Silk. , doi: 10.3390/ijms17122023
- Kawasaki, Y., Nischwitz, C., Grilley, M.M, Jones, J., Takemoto, J.Y, (2016). Production and application of syringomycin E as an organic fungicide seed protectant against pythium damping-off. Journal of Phytopathology, 164:10, 801–810.
- Bell, B., Burton, I.K, Arreola-Patino, J., Harris, T.I, Oliveira, P., Chen, D., Lewis, R.V, Jones, J.A, Scalable Purification of Recombinant Structural Proteins, Hagfish Intermediate Filament α and ɣ, from Inclusion Bodies for Fiber Formation.. Protein Expression and Purification
- Jones, J., Harris, T.I, Oliveira, P.F, Bell, B.E, Alhabib, A., Lewis, R., Importance of Heat and Pressure for Solubilization of Recombinant Spider Silk Proteins in Aqueous Solution.. International Journal of Molecular Sciences17
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Publications | Other
Other
An asterisk (*) at the end of a publication indicates that it has not been peer-reviewed.
Teaching
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory (CI), Spring 2025
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory (CI), Spring 2025
BIOL 4750, 6750 - Topics in Biology, Fall 2024
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Spring 2024
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Spring 2024
BENG, BIOL 5790, 6790 - Protein Structure/Function and Purfication, Fall 2023
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Spring 2023
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Spring 2023
BIOL 6750, 4750 - Topics in Biology (Topic), Fall 2022
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Spring 2022
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Spring 2022
BIOL 5790, 6790 - Protein Structure/Function and Purification, Fall 2021
BIOL 4750 - Topics in Biology (Topic), Fall 2021
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Spring 2021
BIOL 3095 - Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology Laboratory, Spring 2021
BIOL 5790 - Protein Structure/Function and Purification, Fall 2019
BIOL 4750 - Topics in Biology (Topic), Fall 2019
BIOL 4750 - Topics in Biology (Topic), Fall 2018
BIOL 5790, 6790 - Protein Structure/Function and Purification, Spring 2017
Graduate Students Mentored
Oran Wasserman, Biology, August 2021
Jaden Turner, Biology, January 2021 - June 2023