Awards
Awardees in the IOM2023 congress
IOM Emmy Klieneberger-Nobel Award
Professor Glenn Browning (Australia) - for outstanding research in Mycoplasmology
Professor Browning is a veterinary graduate from the University of Sydney (1983) and has a PhD degree in veterinary virology at the University of Melbourne (1988). Glenn has worked as a veterinary clinician at the University of Sydney's Rural Veterinary Centre (1984), and as a veterinary researcher at the Moredun Research Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland (1988-1991). Glenn joined the University of Melbourne as an academic staff member in veterinary microbiology in 1991. He is currently a Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor and Director of the Asia-Pacific Centre for Animal Health, a multidisciplinary research centre within the university committed to improving animal health, welfare and production.
Glenn’s research has spanned from fundamental- to applied research including pathogenesis and epidemiology of infectious diseases, and development of vaccines and diagnostic assays. Glenn’s projects have led to the development of novel attenuated vaccines for the control pf bacterial and viral respiratory diseases of poultry, pigs and cattle, and of diagnostic assays to improve detection of a wide range of viral and bacterial diseases in animals. Glenn’s initiatives have led to the elucidation of reasons for emergence and spread of infectious diseases in livestock.
Glenn has also made major contribution to the community of mycoplasmologists by serving in various roles at the IOM board and its committees.
IOM Peter Hannan award
Dr Vicki Chalker (UK) - for outstanding research achievements in the field of applied clinical mycoplasmology
Vicki has worked on Mycoplasma and Chlamydia species for 23 years. She started her career on Mollicutes in dogs, cats, tortoises and animals with the Royal Veterinary College, UK where she worked on canine infectious respiratory disease, Mycoplasma cynos and other Mollicutes from dogs
and any other animals processed in the lab. She implemented the first international PCR test for
Mycoplasma felis and a PCR service to screen endangered tortoises for Mycoplasma species entering
UK zoos. She then moved to the government Harrison-Pitcher laboratory to work on human
Mollicutes. She worked with the late Dr. Dave Pitcher and became the former head of the UK
national reference unit with remit for human mollicutes and other bacterial species, introducing
services in respiratory mollicute detection for neonates and other patients and Mycoplasma
pneumoniae. She led the development of UK tests for and the first laboratory service for sexually
transmitted reference services for Mycoplasma genitalium and noted this pathogen could be of
importance in rectal samples and has contributed to work on Mycoplasma amphoriforme and
antimicrobial resistance and tested the first UK case for Mycoplasma haemohominis. She is currently
the Chair of the International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes (ICSP) Subcommittee on the
Taxonomy of Mollicutes and has led global studies on Mollicutes and established the Mycoplasma
study group that contributed to the formation of ESCMAC (the European Study Group for
Mycoplasma and Chlamydia). Vicki is currently the Chief Scientific Officer, National Health Service
Blood and Transplant, UK.
IOM Robert F. Whitcomb award
Professor Kenro Oshima (Japan) - for outstanding research in plant mycoplasmology
Kenro Oshima received his PhD degree from University of Tokyo in 1998. He joined Prof. Shigetou Namba’s group as a postdoctoral fellow and started the research of phytoplasmas. He and his group determined the first complete genome sequence of phytoplasma and found that the phytoplasma has lost many genes of metabolic pathway in the process of evolution. They also discovered the virulence factors of phytoplasmas such as TENGU and PHYL and clarified its mechanism of action. He is a member of the International Phytoplasma Working Group and has participated in the revision of the ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma’ species description guidelines in 2022. He was awarded as Kitamoto Award from Japanese Society of Mycoplasmology in 2018 and the Society Award from Phytopathological Society of Japan in 2021. Besides his scientific achievements, Kenro Oshima has contributed to IOM by serving as a member of the Scientific Committee (2008-2010) and the Award Committee (2014-2016).
IOM Derrick Edward Award
Professor Chih-Horng Kuo (Taiwan) - for outstanding research in mycoplasmology by a young investigator
Chih-Horng Kuo entered the field of mycoplasmology in 2010 when he joined Academia Sinica in
Taiwan as a principal investigator. With his expertise in evolutionary and functional genomics, he has
established extensive international collaborations to work on plant and arthropod mycoplasmas. For
plant mycoplasmology, he and his collaborators investigated the evolution and function of
phytoplasma effector genes that are key to pathogenicity. For arthropod mycoplasmology, he and
his collaborators inferred the patterns of genome evolution in each of the Spiroplasma clades and
utilized transcriptomics to compare gene expression regulation between pathogenic and nonpathogenic
species. His studies also impacted the taxonomy of Mollicutes. For phytoplasmas, he led
a project on genome-based delineation of species boundaries and helped to revise the ‘Candidatus
Phytoplasma’ species description guidelines. For arthropod mycoplasmas, the comprehensive
genomic studies led to the union of Mesoplasma with Entomoplasma, and provided insights into the
emergence of Entomoplasma from Spiroplasma, as well as the emergence of the Mycoplasma
Mycoides cluster from Entomoplasma. In addition to research, he has contributed to the
communities through service, including his role as a Board Member of the International Organization
for Mycoplasmology.
About IOM Awards
The Emmy Klieneberger-Nobel Award
Made in honor of Emmy Klieneberger-Nobel and is given in recognition of outstanding contributions in research in the field of mycoplasmology.
Awardees:
Alan W. Rodwell (1980), Joseph G. Tully (1982), Joseph-Marie Bove (1984), Shmuel Razin (1986), David Taylor-Robinson (1988), Paul F. Smith (1990), Wallace A. Clyde (1992), Robert F. Whitcomb (1994), Shlomo Rottem (1996), Dennis Pollack (1998), Joel Baseman (2000), Richard Herrmann (2002), Kim Wise (2004), Gail H. Cassell (2006), Ake Wieslander (2008), Shigetou Namba (2010), Robert E. Davis (2012), Assunta Bertaccini (2014), Ken B. Waites (2016), Joachim Frey (2018), Duncan Krause (2021)
The Derrick Edward Award
Made in memory of D.G. ff. Edward and is given in recognition of outstanding contributions in research in the field of mycoplasmology by young investigators entering the field of mycoplasmology.
Awardees:
Gail H. Cassell (1980), Christopher J. Howard (1982), Kim S. Wise (1984), Leigh R. Washburn (1986), Kevin J. Hackett (1988), Enno Jacobs (1990), Joel Renaudin (1992), Kevin Dybvig (1994), Alain Blanchard (1996), Makoto Miyata (1998), David Yogev (2000), Cécile M. Bébéar (2002), Daniel Brown (2004), Philip F. Markham (2006), Mitchell F. Balish (2008), Pascal Sirand-Pugnet (2010), Saskia A. Hogenhout (2012), Carole Lartigue (2014), Maria Lluch-Senar (2016), Rohini Chopra-Dewasthaly (2018), Brad Spiller (2021)
The Peter Hannan Award
Given in recognition of outstanding research achievements in the field of applied clinical mycoplasmology and is made in honor of Peter C. Hannan. Dr. Hannan made major contributions to this specific discipline within mycoplasmology, particularly in the area of establishing methods for assessing the sensitivity of animal mycoplasmas to antimicrobial drugs.
Awardees:
Fanrong Kong (2004), Ken B. Waites (2006), Jorgen S. Jensen (2008), Patrica Totten (2010), Li Xiao (2012), Cécile Bébéar (2014), Sabine Pereyre (2016), Lisa Manhart (2018), Roger Dumke (2021)
The Robert F. Whitcomb Award
Made in 2008 to honor Robert F. Whitcomb, whose lifetime contributions in plant and insect mycoplasmology were instrumental in the development of the discipline. The award is given in recognition of outstanding research achievements in the field of plant and insect mycoplasmology.
Awardees:
Marc Breton (2008), Fabien Labroussa (2010), Ing-Ming Lee (2014), Yan Zhou (2018), Chih-Horng Kuo (2021)
The IOM Founders Award (Board of Directors Award prior to 2016)
Made to recognize outstanding group or individual efforts that promote the aims, objectives, or activities of the IOM, or contribute to advances in the science of mycoplasmology.
Awardees:
Joseph M. Bové (1982), Michael F. Barile, Leonard Hayflick and Osamu Kitamoto (1984), Eyvind A. Freundt (1988), Wallace A. Clyde, Jr. (1990), Joseph G. Tully (1994), Janet M. Bradbury and Janet A. Robertson (1996), Richard Herrmann (1998), Christiane Bébéar (2000), Richard F. Ross (2002), Shmuel Razin (2004), Dennis Pollack (2006), David and Helena Windsor (2008), Shlomo Rottem (2010), Ken B. Waites and John L. Glass (2012), Roger Ayling (2016), Christine Citti (2018), Dan Brown (2021)
The Louis Dienes Award
Made in memory of Louis Dienes. This award is given to recognize an outstanding poster in mycoplasmology by an author who is a postdoctoral fellow and who obtained the Ph.D. degree no more than five years previously.
Awardees:
A. M. Collier (1988), Chris Minion (1992), Makoto Miyata (1994), Phillip Markham (1996), Chisato Ushida (1998), Shintaro Seto (2000), Thirumalai Kannan (2002), Miriam Hopfe (2004), Rohini Chopra-Dewasthaly (2006), Meghan May (2008), Daisuke Nakane (2010), Maria Lluch-Senar (2012), Ruben S. Rosales (2014), Benjamin Raymond (2016), Luis García Morales (2018), Takuma Toyonaga (2021)
The Harry Morton Student Award
Made to honor Harry Morton and is given in recognition of an outstanding poster presentation in mycoplasmology by a graduate student at a regular Congress of the IOM.
Awardees:
Christine Citti (1988), Rima Youil (1990), Rajmer Mauer (1992), Tanja Jarhede (1994), Jorg T. Regula (1998), Anja Persson (2000), Jacob D. Jaffe (2002), Benjamin M. Hasselbring (2004), Stephanie Iverson-Cabral (2006), Jeffrey Bolland (2008), Sebastian R. Schmidl (2010), Oliver A. Prince (2012), Zigmunds Orlovskis (2014), Ana M. Mariscal (2016), James Pelletier (2018), Hana Kiyama (2021)
Travel Award
Limited to presenters. Please e-mail to iom2023osaka@gmail.com about your budget situation, if possible. We want to assign fellowships in an appropriate way. If you need "accept letter" for fellowship application, also e-mail to us.
Detailed information
For IOM members, please refer to the IOM web site .