Dr. Jones grew up in Parkersburg, WV and graduated from Stanford University in 2001 with a BS in Biology with Honors. As an undergraduate, he developed an interest in how brains process information while working in Dr. William Newsome’s laboratory studying visual cortex in primates.  He then earned a PhD from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, TX  in 2012 studying information processing in neural circuits and within individual neurons in the lab of Dr. Fabrizio Gabbiani; his doctoral dissertation was entitled "The Computation of Image Velocity in the Locust Visual System and its Impact on the Detection of Approaching Objects".  From there, he moved to Pittsburgh for a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Nathan Urban where he studied how animals use olfactory (scent) cues to navigate their environments.     

Motivated by a desire to make a more immediate and definite impact in the lives of others, he decided to return to school to obtain an MD, which he completed in 2019 at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He discovered a passion for clinical Ophthalmology while volunteering at Guerrilla Eye Service, the student and resident staffed free eye clinic run by UPMC Ophthalmology. He hopes to eventually have a combined clinical and research career.  In his free time he enjoys getting outside to hike, rock climb, run, or play soccer; and also enjoys cooking, and spending time with his wife Rachel and their dog Seneca.