Prof Jonathan Jones, of The Sainsbury Laboratory at Norwich Research Park, has been selected as a 2025 Wolf Prize Laureate in Agriculture along with Professors Jeffery L. Dangl and Brian J. Staskawicz “for groundbreaking discoveries of the immune system and disease resistance in plants.”
The Wolf Prize is awarded annually to exceptional individuals across scientific and artistic disciplines. In science, the prize is awarded in Medicine, Agriculture, Mathematics, Chemistry, and Physics. Now in its 46th year, the Wolf Prize has recognized 382 scientists and artists worldwide for their transformative contributions.
Prof Nick Talbot, Executive Director at The Sainsbury Laboratory said, “Crop diseases claim up to 30% of the global harvest each year and controlling them sustainably is critical for food security. The Wolf Prize in Agriculture 2025 recognises the contributions of three exceptional scientists whose work has been critical to our understanding of plant immunity. We now have the knowledge to develop durably disease resistant crops, which will be of huge benefit to humankind.
“I am very proud that the work at The Sainsbury Laboratory by Professor Jonathan Jones has been recognised in this way. Our institution has now won the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for agriculture twice in its 35 year lifetime, which is an extraordinary achievement. I am also pleased that Professor Brian Staskawicz and Professor Jeff Dangl, who have served on our advisory board, have also been recognised for their outstanding contributions.”
This marks the ninth Wolf Prize in Agriculture awarded to a scientist in the UK of which the last three were consecutively awarded to scientists based on their work at Norwich Research Park.
Prof Jones said, “It’s wonderful to see this recognition of the importance of understanding the basic mechanisms that underpin plant disease resistance; without that knowledge, we will not be able to establish durable disease resistance in our crops.
“I’ve been very lucky to have received sustained funding from David Sainsbury’s Gatsby Foundation over more than three decades, and from BBSRC and the EU, and to have had the privilege of working with an outstanding diversity of international talent whose brilliance, dedication and hard work underpinned the discoveries that this Wolf prize recognizes.
“The Sainsbury Laboratory on Norwich Research Park has been a fantastic location for a research career. Many thanks to my wonderful colleagues, our greater research community and our many outstanding advisory board members (two of whom are my cohonorees) that have enabled The Sainsbury Laboratory to become an incredible engine of discovery.”