Speaker –
NMI Summit 2023
Professor Glenn Gibson, PhD
Glenn Gibson is professor of food microbiology at the University of Reading. Professor Gibson received his PhD from University of Dundee and then worked as a research scientist in MRC Dunn Clinical Nutrition Centre, Cambridge later becoming the Head of Microbiology Department in BBSRC Institute of Food Research. Glenn was co-instigator of the prebiotic concept for gut microbiota modulation and the paper which originally coined the term prebiotic (and synbiotic) became the most highly cited publication ever on functional foods. For the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP) Glenn was a co-founder and former President. In 2019, he became an advisor for the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the gut microbiome, which aims to increase knowledge among parliamentarians on the potential benefits of the gut microbiota and its modulation to improve heath.
Glenn has published 8 books, 515 research papers, >400 abstracts, with >56,000 career citations (h factor = 104) and has co-supervised 80 PhD students, 44 postdoctoral researchers, 142 research contracts, >1000 conference lectures. He is visiting professor at 2 other UK universities and also holds other academic positions overseas.
In October 2022, he was confirmed as the highest ranked scientist at University of Reading in terms of global bibliometrics and at 1,022 in the world: https://elsevier.digitalcommonsdata.com/datasets/btchxktzyw/4. In May 2023, research.com listed him at 3rd ranked microbiologist in the UK and 29th in the world with a D-index of 163 and 89,612 citations.
Current research is dominated by gut microbiome interactions and dietary intervention. Both probiotics (live microbial feed additions) and prebiotics (selectively fermented carbohydrates) are studied. He currently researches acute and chronic gut disease, and how these interventions can be influential. This involves initial testing in ‘gut models’ before moving to human intervention studies.