Jon Wade

I'm interested in all aspects of planetary evolution, and in particular the role of iron in determining the initiation and persistence of life on Earth. 

This interest has spanned experimental work on the segregation of our planet's metallic core (unarguably the biggest geological event in Earth history), to its possible role in keeping water on our planet's surface for timescales relevant to evolution.  In fact, since it no longer rains on Mars,  I'd quite like to answer the big question of 'why do I have wet feet today?'

My work has encompassed a lot of microanalyses by a variety of techniques, including electron, X-ray and mass spectrometry methods and has touched on the abiogenic synthesis of biological compounds at the dawn of life.  In collaboration with colleagues in Immunology, we're developing of methods to  rapidly analyse single particles (cells) for their elemental content, and particularly their iron.  Our key aim is to provide a robust tool to analyse the abundance of iron in biological systems  at a cell-population level and hence how this may influence the progression of disease. 

I've worked in a variety of industries and have what might be termed an 'alternative route' into Academia. I have a keen interest in understanding the barriers to entry into Academia (and Oxford in particular) and means by which they may be minimised.