Hugh Pennington
Encyclopedia
Hugh Pennington FRCPath
, FRCP
(Edin) FMedSci
, FRSE
(born 19 April 1938 in Hendon
, Middlesex
) is emeritus professor of bacteriology
at the University of Aberdeen
, Scotland
. Outside academia, he is best known as the chair of the Pennington Group enquiry into the Scottish Escherichia coli
outbreak of 1996 and as Chairman of the Public Inquiry into the 2005 Outbreak of E. coli O157 in South Wales
.
in Lancashire, England. Pennington obtained his MBBS degree in 1962, and his PhD
in 1967, both from St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, which became part of United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals
in 1982, and has been known as King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry
since 2005.
before moving to the Glasgow
Institute of Virology
in 1969, where he researched vaccinia
, smallpox
and other viruses. He was appointed Chair of Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen in 1979, where he remained until his retirement in 2003. His research focused on improved bacteria typing, or "fingerprinting", methods. He was dean
of the medical school between 1987 and 1992. Pennington was also awarded a higher doctorate, i.e. Dsc
.
From 2003-7 he was President of the Society for General Microbiology
. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering
.
outbreak in the town of Wishaw, central Scotland prompted the Scottish Executive
to establish an expert group, chaired by Pennington. The Pennington Group convened between December 1996 and March 1997. Another case of E. coli infection occurred in Tayside
in January 1997 and the group was tasked with investigating the additional outbreak.
, an agency he recommended the government create. He is also a member of the World Food Programme
Technical Advisory Group. He is the former Vice Chair of the Broadcasting Council for Scotland, which advises the BBC
.
He has criticised the UK and German governments for their handling of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
(BSE) and the NHS
for their handling of MRSA. He chaired a 2005 enquiry into a Welsh
E. coli outbreak. The 2005 Outbreak of E. coli O157 in South Wales
Public Inquiry report was published in March 2009.
In 2003, Pennington published When Food Kills , a popular science
book on the topic of BSE, E. coli and public food safety.
, Kent
. They have two daughters.
Royal College of Pathologists
The Royal College of Pathologists, founded in 1962, was established to co-ordinate this development and maintain the internationally renowned standards and reputation of British pathology. Today the College advises on a vast range of issues relating to pathology...
, FRCP
Royal College of Physicians
The Royal College of Physicians of London was founded in 1518 as the College of Physicians by royal charter of King Henry VIII in 1518 - the first medical institution in England to receive a royal charter...
(Edin) FMedSci
Academy of Medical Sciences
The Academy of Medical Sciences is the United Kingdom's national academy of medical sciences. It was established in 1998 on the recommendation of a group that was chaired by Michael Atiyah. Its president is John Irving Bell....
, FRSE
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity, operating on a wholly independent and non-party-political basis and providing public benefit throughout Scotland...
(born 19 April 1938 in Hendon
Hendon
Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...
, Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...
) is emeritus professor of bacteriology
Bacteriology
Bacteriology is the study of bacteria. This subdivision of microbiology involves the identification, classification, and characterization of bacterial species...
at the University of Aberdeen
University of Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen, an ancient university founded in 1495, in Aberdeen, Scotland, is a British university. It is the third oldest university in Scotland, and the fifth oldest in the United Kingdom and wider English-speaking world...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. Outside academia, he is best known as the chair of the Pennington Group enquiry into the Scottish Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
outbreak of 1996 and as Chairman of the Public Inquiry into the 2005 Outbreak of E. coli O157 in South Wales
2005 Outbreak of E. coli O157 in South Wales
An outbreak of the Escherichia coli O157 bacterium occurred in South Wales in 2005. It was the largest outbreak of E. coli O157 in Wales and the second largest in the UK. 157 cases were identified in the outbreak; 31 people were hospitalized, and one child, 5-year old Mason Jones died...
.
Early life
Pennington was educated at Lancaster Royal Grammar SchoolLancaster Royal Grammar School
Lancaster Royal Grammar School is a voluntary aided, selective grammar school for boys in Lancaster, England. The school has been awarded specialist Technology College and Language College status. Old boys belong to The Old Lancastrians...
in Lancashire, England. Pennington obtained his MBBS degree in 1962, and his PhD
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
in 1967, both from St Thomas's Hospital Medical School, which became part of United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals
The United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas' Hospitals was the name given to the joint medical and dental school formed in London as a result of the merger of Guy's Hospital Medical School, St Thomas's Hospital Medical School and the Royal Dental Hospital of London.The merged...
in 1982, and has been known as King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry
King's College London School of Medicine and Dentistry
King's College London School of Medicine is the medical school of King's College London, and one of the United Hospitals...
since 2005.
Academic career
He spent a year at the University of Wisconsin–MadisonUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
before moving to the Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
Institute of Virology
Virology
Virology is the study of viruses and virus-like agents: their structure, classification and evolution, their ways to infect and exploit cells for virus reproduction, the diseases they cause, the techniques to isolate and culture them, and their use in research and therapy...
in 1969, where he researched vaccinia
Vaccinia
Vaccinia virus is a large, complex, enveloped virus belonging to the poxvirus family. It has a linear, double-stranded DNA genome approximately 190 kbp in length, and which encodes for approximately 250 genes. The dimensions of the virion are roughly 360 × 270 × 250 nm, with a mass of...
, smallpox
Smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
and other viruses. He was appointed Chair of Bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen in 1979, where he remained until his retirement in 2003. His research focused on improved bacteria typing, or "fingerprinting", methods. He was dean
Dean (education)
In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
of the medical school between 1987 and 1992. Pennington was also awarded a higher doctorate, i.e. Dsc
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science , usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D. or Dr.Sc., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries Doctor of Science is the name used for the standard doctorate in the sciences, elsewhere the Sc.D...
.
From 2003-7 he was President of the Society for General Microbiology
Society for General Microbiology
The Society for General Microbiology is a learned society based in the United Kingdom but with members in more than 60 countries. With approximately 5000 members, it is the largest microbiological society in Europe...
. He is a member of the Advisory Council for the Campaign for Science and Engineering
Campaign for Science and Engineering
The Campaign for Science and Engineering is a non-profit organization which promotes science and engineering in the UK. It focuses on arguing for more research funding, promoting a high-tech and knowledge-based economy, highlighting the need for top-quality science and maths education at all...
.
Pennington Group enquiry
In late November 1996, an Escherichia coliEscherichia coli
Escherichia coli is a Gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms . Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes can cause serious food poisoning in humans, and are occasionally responsible for product recalls...
outbreak in the town of Wishaw, central Scotland prompted the Scottish Executive
Scottish Executive
The Scottish Government is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was established in 1999 as the Scottish Executive, from the extant Scottish Office, and the term Scottish Executive remains its legal name under the Scotland Act 1998...
to establish an expert group, chaired by Pennington. The Pennington Group convened between December 1996 and March 1997. Another case of E. coli infection occurred in Tayside
Tayside
Tayside Region was a local government region of Scotland from 15 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. It was created by the 1973 Act following recommendations made by the 1969 Wheatley Report which attempted to replace the mishmash of counties, cities, burghs and districts, with a uniform two-tier system...
in January 1997 and the group was tasked with investigating the additional outbreak.
Subsequent public work
Following his chairmanship of the E. coli enquiry, Pennington has worked for the UK, Scottish and Welsh governments as an expert on microbiology and food safety, and has also appeared in British media as an expert. He is a member of the Scottish Food Advisory Committee, part of the Food Standards AgencyFood Standards Agency
The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United Kingdom and is led by a board appointed to act in the public interest...
, an agency he recommended the government create. He is also a member of the World Food Programme
World Food Programme
The World Food Programme is the food aid branch of the United Nations, and the world's largest humanitarian organization addressing hunger worldwide. WFP provides food, on average, to 90 million people per year, 58 million of whom are children...
Technical Advisory Group. He is the former Vice Chair of the Broadcasting Council for Scotland, which advises the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
.
He has criticised the UK and German governments for their handling of Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
(BSE) and the NHS
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
for their handling of MRSA. He chaired a 2005 enquiry into a Welsh
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
E. coli outbreak. The 2005 Outbreak of E. coli O157 in South Wales
2005 Outbreak of E. coli O157 in South Wales
An outbreak of the Escherichia coli O157 bacterium occurred in South Wales in 2005. It was the largest outbreak of E. coli O157 in Wales and the second largest in the UK. 157 cases were identified in the outbreak; 31 people were hospitalized, and one child, 5-year old Mason Jones died...
Public Inquiry report was published in March 2009.
In 2003, Pennington published When Food Kills , a popular science
Popular science
Popular science, sometimes called literature of science, is interpretation of science intended for a general audience. While science journalism focuses on recent scientific developments, popular science is broad-ranging, often written by scientists as well as journalists, and is presented in many...
book on the topic of BSE, E. coli and public food safety.
Personal life
He married Carolyn Beattie in 1966 in MaidstoneMaidstone
Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary. Historically, the river was a source and route for much of the town's trade. Maidstone was the centre of the agricultural...
, Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. They have two daughters.