Prof. Fergus Shanahan
Prof. Fergus Shanahan is a Principal Investigator in the Host-Microbe Dialogue research spoke, with particular research interests in mucosal immunology, inflammatory bowel disease and most things that influence the human experience. He was Director of APC Microbiome Ireland from its foundation as the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in 2003 until 2019. He is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at University College Cork (UCC).
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Chair of the Department of Medicine at University College Cork (UCC)
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Past Director of APC Microbiome Ireland (2003-2019)
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Former president of the Irish Society of Gastroenterology
Prof. Fergus Shanahan is a Principal Investigator in the Host-Microbe Dialogue research spoke, with particular research interests in mucosal immunology, inflammatory bowel disease and most things that influence the human experience. He was Director of APC Microbiome Ireland from its foundation as the Alimentary Pharmabiotic Centre in 2003 until 2019. He is Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at University College Cork (UCC).
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Chair of the Department of Medicine at University College Cork (UCC)
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Past Director of APC Microbiome Ireland (2003-2019)
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Former president of the Irish Society of Gastroenterology
Prof. Fergus Shanahan is a UCD (University College Dublin) medical graduate and was awarded the gold medal in medicine from the Mater Hospital, Dublin. After internship and residency in internal medicine in Dublin, he trained in Clinical Immunology at McMaster University, Canada and in Gastroenterology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He has been awarded Fellowships from the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland, Canada and the United Kingdom and the Fellowship of the American College of Physicians.
Before returning to Ireland in 1993, he was Associate Professor of Medicine with tenure at UCLA. A clinician-scientist with over forty years’ experience helping patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease, he has published over 600 peer reviewed scientific articles and several books; « Fast Facts in Inflammatory Bowel Disease » won the BMA (British Medical Association) Book Award for gastroenterology in 2006. He is a member of the Editorial boards of many journals like: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2010-to date), Alimentary Pharmacology and Toxicology (2001-to date), Gut Microbes (2009-to date) and Current Gastroenterology Reports (1998-to date).
When asked about the areas of research he is interested in, Prof. Shanahan answers: « I am interested in most things that affect the human condition. I have spent most time investigating aspects of mucosal immunology and intestinal diseases but have also contemplated and written on issues ranging from ‘bad language in medicine’ to ‘who needs doctors?’ There aren’t enough hours in the day to pursue what I would like to pursue ».
Prof. Shanahan was recently named to the « Irish Life Science 50 », a list of the top 50 Irish and Irish Americans in the life science industry. In 2013, Science Foundation Ireland named him as its « Researcher of the Year ». In 2016, the Royal Irish Academy honored him with a gold medal for contributions to the life sciences.
Alimentary Pharmabotic Center (APC) Microbiome Ireland: https://apc.ucc.ie/
School of Medicine - University College Cork: https://www.ucc.ie/en/medical/
Irish Society of Gastroenterology: https://www.isge.ie/
Walter J. et al.
Establishing or Exaggerating Causality for the Gut Microbiome: Lessons from Human Microbiota-Associated Rodents.
Cell. 2020 Jan 23;180(2):221-232.
Lynch S-V. et al.
Translating the gut microbiome: ready for the clinic?
Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 Nov;16(11):656-661.
Flemer B. et al.
The oral microbiota in colorectal cancer is distinctive and predictive.
Gut. 2018 Aug;67(8):1454-1463.
Costea P-I.
Enterotypes in the landscape of gut microbial community composition.
Nat Microbiol. 2018 Jan;3(1):8-16.
Flemer B. et al.
Tumour-associated and non-tumour-associated microbiota in colorectal cancer.
Gut. 2017 Apr;66(4):633-643.
O’Sullivan O. et al.
Exercise and the microbiota.
Gut Microbes. 2015;6(2):131-6.
Claesson M-J. et al.
Gut microbiota composition correlates with diet and health in the elderly
Nature. 2012 Aug 9;488(7410):178-84.
Whorwell P-J. et al.
Efficacy of an encapsulated probiotic Bifidobacterium infantis 35624 in women with irritable bowel syndrome
Am J Gastroenterol. 2006 Jul;101(7):1581-90.
Prof. Fergus Shanahan’s Microbiota Events
How the gut microbiome in particular can influence host health in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
