Biography

Alex is a plant biologist whose computational, genetic, and physiological studies centre around plant chronobiology. He currently serves as the head of the Circadian Signal Transduction Group in the University of Cambridge's Department of Plant Sciences researching circadian pathways and what regulates them.

Webb obtained his Bachelor of Science in biology from the University of Stirling in Scotland between 1984 and 1988. Following this, from 1989 to 1992, he received a PhD in plant molecular biology from Lancaster University.

Research

Alex focuses on working out how plants measure time by studying a 24-hour timing device called the circadian clock and identifying how the circadian clock provides benefits to plants to maximise plant growth and productivity. His group is particularly interested in how the circadian oscillator regulates physiology (e.g. Ca2+ signalling) and how the oscillator is regulated by physiological signals (e.g. sugars from photosynthesis).