WORK
Dr JON GOLDING is a Lecturer in Health Sciences whose discoveries could ultimately change the lives of people with neurological disorders and disabilities.
His research centres on multi-potent cells in embryos and stem cells in adults, which both need to integrate signals from their environment in order to, as Jon puts it, “navigate and make cell fate decisions”. Such decisions are vital in developing and repairing tissues and Jon’s research attempts to understand the signals received by the cells to determine, in layman’s terms, where it is and where it should be going.
In particular Jon is leading a team working to understand cranial neural crest cells, which migrate to give rise to the cartilage of the jaw and face. Inappropriate navigation or survival of cranial neural crest underpins most congenital cranio-facial defects. Jon is also developing advanced bioengineering tissue culture models in a bid to understand the complex cellular interactions around the sites of nerve injury that hinder regeneration and how regeneration might be improved by the addition of various types of stem cell.
“I’ve always been interested in how the body gets assembled,” says Jon. “As that interest developed I’ve focused on the nervous system and regeneration, how nerves regenerate from the peripheral to the central system, patterning and pathways and ultimately that research has gone full circle, back in to stem cells.”
And he says the wealth of scientific facilities and the broad scope of experience at the OU has opened up a world of possibilities. “Every now and again you do get a Eureka! moment,” he says. “Sometimes it’s a long, hard slog but it’s all worth it when suddenly something happens or reacts in a certain way – either unexpectedly or how you hoped it would happen but didn’t know for sure. That long slog is then forgotten as you just jump around the room. Eureka moments don’t come along that often but they’re what you live for – and of course they blow open a load of other new questions”.
Jon cites the major influence in his academic life as David Tonge, his PhD supervisor at Kings College London, where he also did his Master’s after completing a BSc at the University of Surrey. But he also has high praise for his current colleagues. “When I came here James Philips (a fellow lecturer in health sciences) and I just hit it off straight away, personally and professionally. He’ll see ways to use my cells, I’ll see ways to use his biomaterials. I think my work with James in this department is one of the best collaborations I’ve ever had.”
PLAY
Jon’s currently enjoying the wide open spaces around Milton Keynes. “I love going for country walks,” he says. “This is the first job I’ve ever had outside London and I know people have a go at Milton Keynes, but I think that’s a good thing because it means they’ll never come here and clutter the place up! I really enjoy the space, discovering the countryside and the lakes.”
Jon also enjoys travel and good food, particularly French cuisine, and at the moment is looking for an opportunity to resurrect an old hobby. “I used to hang-glide quite a lot and really enjoyed it,” he says. “I would hang-glide in Norfolk ¬– which doesn’t sound the ideal place for it as there aren’t many hills there. But we’d get towed into the air so it wasn’t all about jumping off cliffs. Taking it up again is definitely on my to-do list – always assuming I don’t break any bones in the meantime.”
KEY DATES
1965-1980s. Growing up in the Gloucestershire countryside: playing in fresh air, streams and cow muck and spending hours looking at pond life with a small microscope from my Mum; a biology schoolteacher.
1983. Camping in the middle of the Rub’ al Khali “empty quarter” desert of Saudi Arabia (freezing cold at night!) and being offered hospitality by a local tribe of camel herders (camel’s milk tastes thin and watery, a little like coconut milk).
1984. Being part of a rowing 4’s crew at school and beating Eton College at a regatta.
1987. Being awarded an M.Sc in Forensic Sciences with distinction (King’s College, London) and winning the prizes for the best student and the best research project.
1990. Getting my first scientific publication
1992. Getting my PhD. The exam was on the same day that the IRA managed to shut down all London transport. Eventually, I managed to get a lift into the centre with a friend and it was like a ghost town. I had run out of stress by the time I got to my college and remained relaxed all the way through the viva exam.
Mid 1990’s. Hang-gliding with my Dad on Dartmoor and in Norfolk.
1999. Discovering that the migration pattern of cells in the developing head is regulated by a signalling molecule, called ErbB4.
2001. Discovering that the surface covering of the developing head, which has no obvious anatomical patterning of its own, provides patterning information to cells that migrate just below the surface. Up until then it had been assumed that the nervous system provided all of the patterning cues.
2006. Moving from London to Milton Keynes. Taking care of my pond-full of frogs; 17 at the last count!
