Hugh Pennington

(Thomas) Hugh Pennington FRCPath, FRCP (Edin) FMedSci, FRSE (born 1938) is an emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.cite press release |url=http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mediareleases/archive/2003/pr1241.hti |title=Renowned experts retire from the University of Aberdeen |publisher=University of Aberdeen |date=2003-10-07 |accessdate=2007-07-23] Outside academia, he is best known as the chair of the Pennington Group enquiry into the 1996 Scottish E.coli outbreak. [cite book |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents-w4/pgr-00.htm |title=Report on the circumstances leading to the 1996 outbreak of infection with E.coli 0157 in Central Scotland, the implications for food safety and the lessons to be learned |publisher=Scottish Office |date=1997-04-08 |accessdate=2007-07-23 |chapter=Annex 1 |chapterurl=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents-w4/pgr-a1.htm |isbn=0114958513]

Academic career

Pennington obtained his MBBS degree and PhD from St Thomas's Hospital Medical School in 1962 and 1967, respectively. He spent a year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison 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.

Pennington Group enquiry

In late November 1996, an E.coli outbreak in 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. [cite book |url=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents-w4/pgr-00.htm |title=Report on the circumstances leading to the 1996 outbreak of infection with E.coli 0157 in Central Scotland, the implications for food safety and the lessons to be learned |publisher=Scottish Office |date=1997-04-08 |accessdate=2007-07-23 |chapter=Section 1.2 |chapterurl=http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents-w4/pgr-03.htm |isbn=0114958513]

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 Agency, an agency he recommended the government create [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/261739.stm |title=Health Food agency delays 'could cost lives' |publisher=BBC News |date=1999-01-24 |accessdate=2007-07-23] . 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. [cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/aboutus/bcs/work.shtml |title=The Work of the Broadcasting Council 2005/2006 |publisher=BBC Scotland |accessdate=2007-07-23]

He has criticised the UK [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1387188.stm |title=Ministers blamed for food crises |publisher=BBC News |date=2001-06-13 |accessdate=2007-07-23] and German [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/1040162.stm |title=Britain's BSE lessons 'ignored' |publisher=BBC News |date=2000-11-25 |accessdate=2007-07-23] governments for their handling of BSE and the NHS for their handling of MRSA [cite journal |url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v27/n24/penn01_.html |title=Don't pick your nose |author=Hugh Pennington |date=2005-12-15 |accessdate=2007-11-16 |volume=27 |issue=24 |journal=London Review of Books] . He chaired a 2005 enquiry into a Welsh E.coli outbreak. [cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/5117968.stm |title='No stone unturned' E.coli pledge |publisher=BBC News |date=2006-06-27 |accessdate=2007-07-23]

In 2003, Pennington published "When Food Kills" (ISBN 0198525176), a popular science book on the topic of BSE, E.coli and public food safety.

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