Dr Kim Barrett, vice dean for research and distinguished professor of physiology and membrane biology at the UC Davis School of Medicine, has been named as this year’s winner of the John Snow Public Health Innovation Prize 2024.
The prize is part of the Applied Microbiology International Horizon Awards, which celebrate the brightest minds in the field and promote the research, groups, projects, products and individuals who continue to help shape the future of applied microbiology.
The John Snow Public Health Innovation Prize recognises and supports excellence in applied microbiology, specifically targeting those whose work significantly improves public health and environmental sustainability.
“We are so delighted to be able to present this well deserved award to Dr Barrett in recognition of all the pioneering research that she has carried out into gastrointestinal physiology and the development of probiotics,” said AMI chief executive Dr Lucy Harper.
Research physiologist
Dr Barrett is a research physiologist, specialising in digestive disorders such as inflammatory bowel diseases. Her research focuses on the transport and barrier properties of the gastrointestinal epithelium and how these are deranged in the setting of various disease processes. Her work is relevant to the understanding of diarrheal diseases, particularly those caused by infectious agents such as Salmonella, and also to the mechanism of action of probiotics.
A native of the United Kingdom, she obtained her B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees (in Medicinal Chemistry and Biological Chemistry, respectively) from University College London.
Following a post-doctoral fellowship at the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH), she joined the faculty of the University of California San Diego in 1985, was promoted to Full Professor in 1996, and advanced to the rank of Distinguished Professor of Medicine in 2015.
Intestinal epithelium
With support from the NIH and private foundations, her research interests have centered on the physiology and pathophysiology of the intestinal epithelium and their relevance to inflammatory bowel diseases and diarrheal diseases, and have resulted in more than 300 publications.
Her scientific accomplishments have also garnered a number of awards and other recognitions, including the Bowditch and Davenport Lectureships of the American Physiological Society (APS), receipt of the degree of Doctor of Medical Science, honoris causa, from Queens University Belfast, and the Bayliss/Starling Lectureship of The Physiological Society. She is also Editor-in-Chief for The Journal of Physiology and a Past-President of the APS.
Aligned with Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 6, the John Snow Public Health Innovation Prize is for professionals, researchers, and innovators who have made notable contributions to health and well-being, as well as to clean water and sanitation. It honours their efforts in tackling key health challenges and ensuring safe water access, emphasising real-world impacts in these critical areas.
To find out more about AMI’s grants and awards, click HERE.
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