Blog listing

South Asian Heritage Month takes place every July, to deepen understanding of South Asian heritage, promote intercultural dialogue and support a more equitable and inclusive society. To mark the awareness month this year, Society Champion, Dr Deepali Luthra (Stanford University, USA) reflects on her career in microbiology, this year's theme of ‘Unity in Diversity’ and what it means to build a career across countries, cultures and scientific disciplines.

World Refugee Day takes place annually on 20 June to honour the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution. This year, Members Panel member, Sara Albagir Abdalla Mohammed (University of Khartoum, Sudan) discusses her experience of being displaced due to conflict, to highlight some of the challenges students and academics face.

Following a successful Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) session at Annual Conference 2026, organisers Arindam Mitra, Bruno Silvester Lopes, Catherine Lawler and Guerrino Macori reflect on learnings from the session’s workshop.

Global Accessibility Awareness Day highlights the importance of creating more accessible and inclusive digital and professional spaces for Disabled people, and those living with impairments. As part of this year’s awareness day, we spoke to Eukaryotic Division and Early Career Forum Executive Committee member, Abbie Storan, about their experiences navigating higher education, and a career in microbiology, as a researcher living with autism, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), dyspraxia and dyscalculia. From accessing support during their studies to building confidence within research spaces, Abbie reflects on the challenges, adjustments and opportunities that have shaped their journey in science.

International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia is an annual event that takes place on 17 May to raise awareness of the discrimination faced by the LGBTQ+ community and celebrates its diversity. To mark the occasion this year, we hear from member, Bracken Johnston, about his experience of attending the 5th LGBTQ+ Networking Event with Trans and Nonbinary pre-meet, as part of Annual Conference 2026.

As we approach Annual Conference 2026, where members of our community come together from all over the world, Prokaryotic Division member, Prerna Vohra (University of Edinburgh, UK), reflects on the importance of names.

International Women’s Day takes place annually on 8 March with the aim of forging a gender equal world, free from bias, stereotypes and discrimination. This year, to mark the day, we caught up with a few of our Champions to discuss some of challenges of being a woman in science, as well as their biggest achievements.

Women’s History Month takes place every year throughout March. This year, to mark the occasion, we have an update and request from Champion, Dr Corrado Nai (Indonesia), who is creating a graphic novel about microbiology’s forgotten woman, Fanny Angelina Hesse (1850–1934). Fanny discovered that agar could be used to grow micro-organisms. You can read more about the idea behind the project in Corrado Nai’s previous blog: Creating a graphic novel about microbiology’s forgotten woman.