11 October 2011
Dundee scientist awarded £80,000 Rank Prize for research into human nutrition
Professor John Cummings, Emeritus Professor of Experimental Gastroenterology at the University of Dundee, will receive £80,000 after winning one of the most prestigious prizes in the field of nutrition research.
He has been named as the winner the 2012 Rank Prize for his research, which identified the role of the colon in human health and nutrition.
The Rank Prize was established in 1972 following a bequest from the late industrialist and film producer Lord Rank. It was his wish to promote the sciences of nutrition and optoelectronics.
These two areas were of special interest to Lord Rank because of his family’s milling and baking business, and the Rank film organisation. Two prizes are awarded annually - one for nutrition and one for optoeletronics - and are only given to those considered to be eminent leaders in their respective fields.
'This is a tremendous honour, and it is really great, not just for myself, but for all the people who I work with in Dundee and who I have worked with in the past,' he said. 'This Prize is recognition for nutrition as a whole. Previous winners have come from all over the world - from the US, India and the Far East - so it is good that it should come to Scotland and this University.
'As far as nutrition prizes go, there aren’t many that can top this in terms of both prestige and money so I’m very pleased to have won.'
Although the large bowel was known to play a major role in regulating the digestive health of animals such as horses and elephants, it was not conventionally regarded as being of major significance for human health.
Whilst researching the role of dietary fibre, Professor Cummings and his team showed that the large bowel, or hind-gut, was indeed vital to human digestion. They identified that fermentation in the colon contributes to energy metabolism and protection against large bowel cancer.
In recognition of his pioneering research, Professor Cummings was appointed OBE in 2008. He also received the British Nutrition Foundation Annual Award for 2008 for making an outstanding contribution to nutrition.
He will add the Rank Prize to that collection when he is formally presented with the award on Monday, 6th February 2012 during a ceremony at the Royal College of Physicians, London.
The Rank Prize Funds is a charitable organisation which seeks to recognise excellence in specific fields of research and reward innovators for their dedication and outstanding contribution.
More information is available at www.rankprize.org.
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