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Published: 29 August 2024

Class of 1996 alumnus, Professor Paul Turner, was made an OBE in this year’s New Years Honours list. A clinical paediatric microbiologist and Director of the Cambodia Oxford Medical Research Unit, we asked Paul for his reflections on receiving the honour.

On first being notified of the award, Paul says: “I received a phone call from Dominic Williams, the UK’s Ambassador to Cambodia, about three weeks before the honours list was published."

It was a complete surprise and a little overwhelming, so I was rendered speechless for a short while.

- Professor Paul Turner -

“I am delighted to receive this honour. It is a reflection of the dedication and hard work of a fantastic team."

The work that we do in Cambodia has had positive impacts on the treatment and prevention of severe bacterial infections in children and it is wonderful to have it recognised in this way.

- Professor Paul Turner -

"Although I do not know the exact date yet, I am very much looking forward to travelling back to the UK to visit Buckingham Palace to receive the award.”

In addition to his work in Cambodia, Paul is a Professor of Paediatric Microbiology at the Centre for Tropical Medicine and Global Health at the University of Oxford; and also leads on research into pneumococcal colonisation and the nasopharyngeal microbiota, paediatric invasive bacterial infection epidemiology and antimicrobial resistance.

Beyond that Paul is the principal investigator of the ACORN Asia-Africa clinical AMR surveillance network while his non-research work focuses on capacity development for diagnostic microbiology in low-resource settings.

Reflecting on how St George’s prepared him for such a varied career, Paul says:

Training at St George's was a fantastic start to my career and the link has been maintained over the years.

- Professor Paul Turner -

"I have worked with Jason Hinds of St George’s Institute for Infection and Immunity on pneumococcal colonisation and disease. These days, I work closely with Professor Mike Sharland and St George’s Paediatric Infectious Diseases team on global antimicrobial resistance projects. Back in the 1990's Mike was a registrar at St George's and taught me as part of the general paediatric rotation!”

Many congratulations Paul.

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