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School of Pharmacy faculty members capture award for best research paper

Double head shot photo of Hills and Sutton
Ron Hills and Steev Sutton of the School of Pharmacy

Ron Hills, Ph.D., associate professor of medicinal chemistry, and Steev Sutton, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration, have received the 2021 Best Paper Award from Nutrients, a peer-reviewed, open access journal of human nutrition published monthly online by the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) based in Switzerland.

A selection committee at Nutrients chose three winners following a review process by an evaluation committee.

Hills and Sutton won first place for their paper

The article reviews the impact of the gut microbiome on chronic disease and its relationship to a patient's habitual diet. Since its publication in July 2019, the paper has been cited 248 times.

Hills' own research involves modeling lipids and cell membranes to understand their effect on protein function. Sutton is conducting experiments using in vitro models of the intestine to examine the impact of environmental contaminants on inflammation and membrane permeability.

The first prize came with 1000 CHF (Swiss Francs) and one free publication in the journal.

The article was coauthored by graduates of the Â鶹´«Ã½Pharm.D. program Hillary Mishcon and Cody Black.

About the Â鶹´«Ã½

The Â鶹´«Ã½ is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of . In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.