Winners of Applied Microbiology International Horizon Awards 2024 announced

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The winners of the Applied Microbiology International Horizon Awards 2024 have been announced.

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The prizes, awarded by the learned society Applied Microbiology International (AMI), celebrate the brightest minds in the field and promote the research, group, projects, products and individuals who continue to help shape the future of applied microbiology.

The One Health Microbiome Center at Penn State has been named as this year’s winner of the WH Pierce Global Impact in Microbiology Prize 2024.

This award acknowledges and celebrates individuals, teams, or organisations that have made groundbreaking contributions to global challenges through applied microbiology.

Engine of impact

The One Health Microbiome Center at Penn State University and its Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has established itself as an engine of impact in applied microbiome research and education. It is one of the largest and most active units in the field with a mission to optimize, advance, and disseminate long-lasting microbiome applications and knowledge.

As microbes serve as the foundation of agricultural, environmental, and human ecosystems, the Center recognizes that the flow of microbes through these ecosystems shapes the risk of health and disease and fosters long-term working relationships with leading university, science education, and industry partners locally, nationally, and worldwide.

Professor Sabiha Essack, the South African Research Chair (SARChI) in Antibiotic Resistance and One Health, Professor in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) and Honorary Professor of Pharmacy at the University of Jordan, has been awarded the Christiana Figueres Policy to Practice Award.

Essack’s illustrious career is marked by numerous accolades and roles at both national and international levels. She has served as a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow who undertook research training for her PhD at St Bartholomew’s and the Royal London School of Medicine and Dentistry in the UK and has been a leading figure in the field of AMR through her research, advisory roles, and policy guidance. Her work has informed policies and strategies for AMR prevention and containment across the globe, and she has published extensively in high-impact scientific journals.

Interdisciplinary approaches

Dr François Thomas, an independent researcher with the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS, France) has been named as the newest winner of the Rachel Carson Environmental Conservation Excellence Award.

Dr Thomas is an applied and environmental microbiologist with a strong background in molecular biology and biochemistry. The overarching goal of his research is to decipher some of the strategies bacteria use to perform critical biogeochemical transformations, and to quantify their ecological impact. He uses interdisciplinary approaches to gain insights into which environmental bacteria can perform these processes, how they do it, and how it varies depending on the conditions.

Dr Helen Onyeaka, an industrial microbiologist at the University of Birmingham, has been named as the newest winner of the Basil Jarvis Food Security and Innovation Award.

Dr. Onyeaka is an industrial microbiologist with more than 25 years of experience, whose groundbreaking research focuses on food security, sustainable food systems, and innovative microbiological solutions to global challenges. Her work spans academia, industry, and public policy, with a mission to translate scientific knowledge into real-world strategies that enhance food safety, reduce waste, and promote sustainable production methods.

As Deputy Director of the Birmingham Institute for Sustainability and Climate Action (BISCA), she sees the urgency in developing sustainable food production systems, particularly as climate change exacerbates global hunger and food system fragility.

Boosting representation

The Afro-Caribbean Commercial Science Network (ACCSN), founded by Daniel Similaki, has been named as this year’s winner of the Dorothy Jones Diversity and Inclusion Achievement Award 2024.

ACCSN was formed by Daniel after years of frustration with the lack of initiatives promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the commercial and broader life science industry. The organisation’s mission to boost the black and ethnic minority representation is shaped by both Daniel’s personal experiences, and the challenges faced by other minorities in the industry.

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.

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.

To find out more about AMI’s Grants and Awards programme, visit https://appliedmicrobiology.org/membership-community/grants-awards.html.