Jane Mellor received her PhD in 1982 and is currently a Professor in the Department of Biochemistry in Oxford (UK). Her research focuses on gene expression and chromatin, starting with viruses, moving to yeasts and then to mammalian cells. Recent advances have uncovered links between chromatin, transcription and RNA fate, and between chromatin and metabolism. The group has pioneered our understanding of the role of non-coding transcription, demonstrating roles in switching chromosome conformation signatures to coordinate gene expression with metabolism by altering chromatin. Lately, the group has applied mathematical modelling to uncover fundamental relationships between histone acetylation and transcription that are beyond the resolution of current experimental techniques. She is a EMBO member and has contributed to three local spin-out companies: Oxford Biodynamics plc (OBD), Chronos Therapeutics Ltd. and Sibelius Natural Products Ltd, all with discoveries made first in yeast underpinning their technology.