Thermo Fisher Scientific has announced that the 2011 Oxoid W H Pierce Memorial Prize, which commemorates the late W H (Bill) Pierce, has been awarded to Dr Brian Jones, senior lecturer at the University of Brighton. The award acknowledges Dr Jones’ research into the human gut mobile metagenome, the mobile genetic elements (such as plasmids) that are associated with intestinal microbiota.
Awarded under the auspices of the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM), the Oxoid W H Pierce Memorial Prize is presented every year to a young SfAM member who has made a substantial contribution to microbiology. Dr Jones, pictured receiving his award, is developing methods to study the transfer of genetic material within the whole intestinal microbial community. This work will shed valuable light on the understanding of what is happening in the human gut microbiota and how it is involved in various diseases.