Dr Anthony Hilton

National Teaching Fellow 2011 Although Anthony Hilton has studied the invisible world of microbiology for over 20 years, he has never lost the fascination and enthusiasm for the subject that filled him when he first observed bacteria down a microscope. Anthony continues to inspire his students with his infectious passion for all things microbiological. His distinctive freshness and enthusiasm is well recognised by his academic colleagues and particularly his students who regard his teaching as inspirational. One of Anthony's students commented, "Anthony is one of the best lecturers at Aston, you can tell he loves the teaching he does." Anthony has embraced VLE opportunities to support student learning by providing podcasts, vodcasts and even comprehensive feedback on assessed work using mp3 files emailed directly to students. This pedagogic leadership inspires his colleagues and one senior colleague commented "I've definitely felt inspired by his way of teaching, I feel he innovates, develops teaching and supports others." In addition to his contribution to teaching microbiology, Dr Hilton has also co-authored many articles on statistics which he has published as statistical guidance notes, now compiled into a textbook. In recognising his teaching excellence, the University awarded Anthony the School Teaching Excellence Award in 2006. Anthony's passion for communicating knowledge in microbiology is not restricted to his undergraduate and postgraduate students; he is also a regular contributor to teaching at further and secondary education levels and through the print and broadcast media to the general public. His widening participation and public engagement activities have been supported by grants from the Wellcome Trust to help educate younger students about important aspects of microbiology and he has even had his own television series on the BBC, Grime Scene Investigation, in addition to feature articles on BBC's The One Show. In 2009 Anthony's approach to communicating microbiology to a diverse audience was recognised by the Society for Applied Microbiology Science Communication and Aston University's Excellence in Community Engagement awards. In 2011 he gained the Peter Wildy Award for outstanding contribution to microbiology education from the Society for General Microbiology.