George Blackburn Research Mentorship Award

"It is a great honor to receive the George Blackburn Research Mentorship award. Dr. George Blackburn, a friend, colleague and mentor, is a legendary figure in clinical nutrition and metabolism. I recall the many kind invitations from him to participate in the outstanding program he directed from Harvard and the Deaconess hospital.

As a young man, I was fortunate to meet the giants in clinical and experimental nutrition through these yearly meetings and was inspired by them to continue along this important line of inquiry and understand the most important role that nutrition plays in the outcome from a surgical intervention.

My very first scientific presentation was in Florida in the late 1980’s at the prestigious ASPEN society meeting. Being able to present and support my work in front of luminaries such as Dr Blackburn was an inspiration I will never forget. Given my original focus on the gut microbiome, this work has now come full circle: diet has become among the most important factors governing the composition and function of the gut microbiome.

I could not be more pleased to have started my research career in the nutrition space and then to have ended up discovering that where I started is where I ended up and where the field is going. It is a tribute to the importance of mentorship and its legacy to all who have trained me and to all whom I have trained in this important and lasting field."