Ms Jones (23) will begin her American studies in August. The scholarship, which covers tuition fees and health insurance, also provides a living stipend, totalling about $US50,000 a year.
"I feel very privileged to be selected," she said.
Her planned study of genetic mechanisms controlling the development of germ cells- which are the reproductive cells in multicellular organisms- could also help shed new light on some causes of human infertility.
Ms Jones, who has a BSc (hons) degree in genetics from Otago, has also received further scholarship support from the Harvard University department of organismic and evolutionary biology, enabling her to continue her research for a further four years after the Knox scholarship ends.
Knox scholarships each year support study at Harvard by about 15 students from New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Britain.