John Bryant obtained a first-class degree in Natural Sciences and a PhD in Plant Biochemistry at the University of Cambridge. After doing post-doctoral research at the University of East Anglia, he held academic positions at Nottingham and Cardiff before being appointed as Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology and Head of Biosciences at the University of Exeter. John is a Past-President of the Society for Experimental Biology, a former Chair of Christians in Science and is currently Professor Emeritus of Biosciences at Exeter. He was a Visiting Research Associate at the Brookhaven National Laboratory, USA from 1992-1997 and Visiting Professor of Molecular Biology at West Virginia State University, USA from 1999-2007. He is an elected member of the International Society for Science and Religion. In his research he has focussed on DNA, genes and gene expression and especially on the control of DNA replication. Since 1995 he has also worked on the development of teaching Bioethics to Bioscience students, initially at Exeter but since 2002 also across the UK (as an adviser to the Higher Education Academy) and overseas (Ireland, Belgium and the USA). His recent books include Bioethics for Scientists and Introduction to Bioethics (both with Linda la Velle and John Searle), Life in Our Hands (with John Searle), The Eukaryotic Cell Cycle (with Dennis Francis), Functional Biology of Plants (with Martin Hodson; this was selected in the USA as Outstanding Academic Title, 2012), Plant Nuclear Structure (with David Evans and Katja Graumann) and Beyond Human?. He is well-known as a speaker, writer and broadcaster on science, bioethics and science & religion; he has twice been short-listed for a national award in science communication. He has recently been honoured by the Society for Experimental Biology for his work on plant DNA replication and cell division.
Outside of work, John loves sport. He is a cross-country and road runner (formerly at county level) and played evening league cricket for many seasons. He is a devoted fan of Crystal Palace FC. John is also a keen birdwatcher and loves wild places – mountains, moors, marshes, deserts. He is an active member of Exeter Network Church.
Recent selected publications on science and religion
- J.A. Bryant and P. Turnpenny, Genetics and genetic modification of humans: principles, practice and possibilities. In Brave New World, ed C. Deane-Drummond, T & T Clark, Edinburgh (2003), pp 5-26.
- J.A. Bryant and J.F. Searle Life in Our Hands, Inter-Varsity Press, Leicester, (2004).
- Bryant, J.A. and Gudgin. M.G. (2006). Attitudes to stem-cell research amongst conservative evangelical Christian students and students of no religious faith. In preparation.
Selected recent science publications
- J.A. Bryant, L.M. Baggott la Velle and J.F. Searle,(2002) eds Bioethics for Scientists, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester.
- D.C. Brice, J.A. Bryant, G. Dambrauskas, S.C. Drury and J.A. Littlechild (2004) ‘Cloning and expression of cytosolic phospho-glycerate kinase from pea (Pisum sativum L). Journal of Experimental Botany, 55, 955-956.
- Anderson L.E., Bryant J.A., Carol A.A. (2004) Both chloroplastic and cytosolic phosphoglycerate kinase isozymes are present in the pea leaf nucleus. Protoplasma 223, 103-110.
- Evans, D.E., Hutchison, C.J. and Bryant, J.A. (2004) (eds) The Nuclear Envelope, Bios, Oxford.
- Evans, D.E., Bryant, J.A and Hutchison, C.J. (2004) The nuclear envelope: a comparative overview. In the Nuclear Envelope, Evans, D.E., Hutchison, C.J. and Bryant, J.A. (eds), Bios, Oxford, pp1-8.
- Christopher J R Willmott, Andrew N Bond, John A Bryant, Stephen J Maw,Heather J Sears; Jackie M Wilson (2004) Teaching Ethics to Bioscience Students – a Survey of Undergraduate Provision BEE-j Volume 3: May 2004 http://bio.ltsn.ac.uk/journal/vol3/beej-3-9.htm.
- J. Bryant (2004) Birds, Bees and Superweeds. Biological Sciences Review 17, 24-27.
- John Bryant Crop plant genetic modification. Bioethics Briefings No 2. Centre for Bioscience, Higher Education Academy (2004).
- Chris Willmott and John Bryant Engaging with the ethical implications of science. Proceedings of the Science Learning and Teaching Conference, 85-89 (2005).
- John Bryant, Linda Baggott la Velle and John Searle Introduction to Bioethics, John Wiley and Sons, Chichester, (2005).
- Bryant, J.A. and Morgan, C.L. (2007) Attitudes to Teaching Ethics to Bioscience Students: an Interview-based Study Comparing British and American University Teachers. Bioscience Education EJournal.
