His laboratory demonstrated in 1996 that the new human prion disease, variant CJD, was caused by the same prion strain as that causing BSE in cattle and has been responsible for a number of key advances in the field. Professor Collinge has served on numerous Government advisory committees on prion disease at a national, European Union and international level. He is committed to public communication of the Unit’s research and gives many media interviews. He is a Founder Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, a Fellow of the Royal Society and was awarded a CBE for services to medical research.