April 18, 2019, by Emma Rayner

Top poultry award for Nottingham professor

A professor at the University of Nottingham has been honoured with a top international award recognising his significant expertise in poultry research.

Paul Barrow, Professor of Veterinary Infectious Diseases in the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, was awarded the prestigious Robert Fraser Gordon Medal for services to poultry science at a ceremony at the World’s Poultry Science Association (WPSA) UK 2019 Spring Meeting in Edinburgh on 10th April.

Professor Barrow said: “I was thrilled and tickled pink to be told that I was to be awarded this medal. I have been involved in research in Salmonella infections in poultry and novel approaches to controlling infections, all with relevance to poultry, since 1981 and have worked with some of the best people in poultry science.

“It’s been great to be involved in such exciting science but also to know that some of our ideas over the years have been put into practice.”

Professor Barrow is an infection bacteriologist specialising in poultry and pig diseases with an interest in molecular bacteriology and immunity. He is recognised internationally for his expertise in Salmonella in poultry and has considerable experience in Campylobacter and Mycobacterium. He is also a leading expert in the use of bacteriophages.

At Nottingham, he leads a research group which studies and exploits host-pathogen interactions in Salmonella enterica infections in poultry and pigs and applies its findings to investigate and control infection and disease in food animals and also uses these infections as models of human disease.

As part of his award, Professor Barrow was invited to deliver the 2019 Gordon Memorial Lecture, which was titled Novel Biological Approaches to Controlling Bacterial Infection.

The award is named in honour of Dr Robert Fraser Gordon, former Head of the Poultry Diagnostic Department at the Central Veterinary Laboratory in Weybridge and founder of the Animal Health Trust’s research station dedicated to poultry and their diseases – the institute that Professor Barrow joined in 1981. Dr Gordon was recognised for his services to the poultry industry and veterinary profession with a CBE in 1972 before his death in February 1981.

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