ISAPP board member Prof. Colin Hill receives Career Achievement Research Award from University College Cork
This month, ISAPP board member and former president Professor Colin Hill received a prestigious award from University College Cork (Ireland), where he has worked since 1992: The UCC Career Achievement Research Award. The prize honours leading researchers whose influential work has been recognized globally.
Hill’s research interests lie in molecular microbiology—specifically, issues around infection. His team was the first to discover lacticin 3147 and thuricin CD, two examples of a class of anti-microbials produced by bacteria that kill bacteria. He is also a leading scientist exploring the human virome: his team developed tools for gut virome analysis, performed phage therapy in vivo, and increased the number of known phage genomes by tens of thousands. Hill is the inventor on 23 patents, has published over 570 research articles, and to date, has secured over €25 million worth of research funding. His publications and citations put him in the top 1% of researchers worldwide.
Hill has served on the ISAPP board of directors since 2009, and was president from 2012-2015. He has supported ISAPP’s efforts to advance the science of probiotics through his scientific insights and leadership: he was lead author on the landmark ISAPP consensus paper on probiotics, participated in the recent ISAPP consensus panel on postbiotics, led numerous ISAPP discussion groups during the ISAPP annual meetings, and co-authored 10 ISAPP publications.
Prof. Todd Klaenhammer, who is a founding ISAPP board member, a member of the US National Academy of Sciences, and a retired professor from North Carolina State University, says of the award, “This is fantastic and a huge honor for Colin, one that is very well deserved. He has distinguished himself as a leading scientist, with some of the most brilliant work I have seen from anyone who has successfully crossed disciplines—as he has with his work on phage, probiotics, listeria, among others.”
ISAPP’s Executive Science Officer, Dr. May Ellen Sanders, says, “Colin is a rare combination of great scientist, effective leader and engaging person. During his tenure as president, ISAPP really made it onto the global map. It was a productive and really fun three years with him at ISAPP’s helm.”
Hill’s ISAPP colleagues know him for his exceptional curiosity and willingness to push boundaries, and wish him the best of success as he continues his groundbreaking scientific work.
