20 June 2008

Emeritus professor awarded OBE

Professor John Cummings, Emeritus Professor of Experimental Gastroenterology has been honoured in the Queen's Birthday Honours List. He is to be made an OBE for his contribution to medicine and nutrition.

Professor Cummings retired from the University last year but continues to work with the Gut Group within the Medical School's Division of Pathology and Neuroscience.

His research team in Dundee studied the effect of dietary fibre on health and found that individuals could influence the growth of "friendly bacteria" through their diet.

An acknowledged expert on colonic health he has served on a wide range of Government committees and international advisory groups including being a founder member of the World Health Policy Forum.

He is still an active member of the World Health Organisation's expert group on carbohydrates and is continuing to work with the Food Standards Agency and as an independent consultant to commercial food companies.

Professor Cumming has published more than 300 research papers, reviews, editorials and book chapters. His work has been cited around 14,000 times and has been recognised with awards including the McCarrison Society Cleave Award and the Caroline Walker Trust Science Prize.

Professor Cumming received his medical degree from the University of Leeds in 1964. After completing specialist clinical training in gastroenterology he joined the staff of the Medical Research Council Gastroenterology Unit in London in 1970.

In 1975 he moved to the MRC Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre in Cambridge where he remained until 1998. During his time there he was also appointed Honorary Consultant in Gastroenterology and Nutrition at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge and as Associate Lecturer in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cambridge.

During the 1980s he was joined in Cambridge by two Dundee post-doctoral scientists, George Macfarlane and Glen Gibson, both microbiologists, with whom he developed the work on the gut microflora.

In 1999 he moved to Dundee to take up a post as Professor of Experimental Gastroenterology. He was also appointed Honorary Consultant at Ninewells Hospital.

The Gut Biology Research Group, including George Macfarlane, who is now Professor of Microbiology in the University, moved north with Professor Cummings. It has won widespread international recognition and made a significant contribution to the understanding of digestive physiology and diseases.

"The focus of our work now is the interaction of microflora, diet and the gut epithelium and its consequences for health," said Professor Cummings who was made Emeritus Professor of Experimental Gastroenterology on his retiral last year.

"We have shown that the large bowel contains bacteria that can be classified as either good or bad for our health. The good bacteria are now being used widely in yoghurt drinks and similar foods and are known as probiotics. Taking probiotic bacteria when patients are given antibiotics reduces the risk of antibiotic-associated diarrhoea by half and eliminates Cl difficile infection. More importantly we have shown that these good bacteria, which already exist in the gut, can be stimulated to grow by certain dietary sugars, known as prebiotics. Work on how prebiotics benefit health is currently underway at Ninewells."

He added that his inclusion in the Birthday Honours List was a "wonderful recognition" for the work carried out by the Gut Group.

"I am very pleased to be honoured in this way. It's a wonderful recognition for what we have done and it is a credit to the University because they have given us the facilities to do this work."

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