China offers full-time job to top European immunologist Andrew Macpherson

European immunologist Andrew Macpherson has officially taken up a full-time position at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei in the central province of Anhui.

Macpherson, widely regarded as one of the foremost authorities in gastrointestinal mucosal immunity, joins USTC from Switzerland, where he was a professor of immunology at the University of Bern and director of the gastroenterology department at Inselspital Hospital.

He won the Per Brandtzaeg Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award in 2022 and his recruitment signals China’s ambition to lead in life sciences innovation. This award honours outstanding members of the community of scientists in mucosal immunology.

With more than 300 peer-reviewed publications, including landmark studies in Nature and Science, Macpherson’s pioneering work on gut microbiota and immune regulation has reshaped the understanding of how the body maintains harmony with trillions of intestinal microbes.

Healthy humans and animals host a vast community of bacteria and other microorganisms in their intestines. These microbes are highly beneficial, aiding in energy extraction from food, providing vitamins, breaking down toxins and preventing pathogenic infections.

A key challenge for health is to confine these symbiotic microbes to the intestinal tract while still allowing them to thrive.

South China Morning Post