Satoshi Okabe is awarded the ISME/IWA BioCluster Grand Prize in recognition of interdisciplinary research of outstanding merit at the interface of microbial ecology and water/wastewater treatment. Satoshi Okabe is working at the interface of microbial ecology and wastewater engineering, integrating multi-scale analytical frameworks with high-purity anammox cultivation to reveal the structure and function of complex microbial ecosystems, elucidate their role in the global nitrogen cycle, and translate these insights into next-generation, energy-efficient nitrogen removal technologies.
The Award ceremony was held at the 15th IWA World Water Congress & Exhibition in Glasgow, where Satoshi Okabe presented his latest research.
The ISME/IWA BioCluster created the ISME/IWA BioCluster Award in order to recognise the importance and impact of interdisciplinary research at the interface of microbial ecology, water & wastewater treatment, and engineering sciences. The award is a collaboration between the International Society for Microbial Ecology (ISME) and the International Water Association (IWA). First established in 2016, the award is presented every two years. The review committee was composed of the following members: Glen Daigger, Phil Hugenholtz, Per H. Nielsen, Cindy Smith, and Michael Wagner. Previous awardees can be found here.
Professor Satoshi Okabe is a Professor in the Division of Environmental Engineering at Hokkaido University, Japan. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in Civil Engineering from the University of Miyazaki and earned his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering from Montana State University, USA. His research focuses on elucidating the structure and function of complex microbial ecosystems and applying this knowledge to advance wastewater engineering. He combined classical cultivation with advanced microsensing and molecular ecological tools such as FISH, MAR‑FISH, RNA‑SIP, and multi‑omics, enabling the development of a multi‑scale, in situ analytical framework that links molecular‑level, single‑cell, and community‑level information.
Professor Okabe has also played significant leadership roles in both the IWA and ISME. He served on the management committees of the IWA Biofilm Specialist Group and the IWA MEWE Specialist Group and was elected an IWA Fellow in 2016. Within ISME, he served as an International Board Member and as Senior Editor of The ISME Journal. In recognition of his scientific achievements and service, he received the Ardern–Lockett Award from the IWA MEWE Specialist Group in 2023.