Blog listing

Celebrated annually during the month of October in the UK, Black History Month recognises the contributions, culture and history of Black people. This year, we hear from Society Champion, Mariam Bhadmus (University of Huddersfield, UK), who has reflected on this year’s theme of ‘Honouring Our Communities’.

As part of the Society’s grant scheme, microbiologists who have been members for a year or more can apply for Society-Supported Conference Grants to help them in organising scientific conferences. That’s exactly what the organisers of the London Infection Network for ECRs (LINE) did ahead of organising their annual symposium for early career researchers (ECRs) in June 2026. Below, they reflect on the experience of organising the symposium and the importance of the event to the community it serves.

Our Champions Scheme allows members to promote microbiology and the Society in their local areas by providing funding and resources for a variety of activities. In November 2025, Champion Akpan Friday (Solina Centre for International Development and Research, Nigeria), organised an outreach project, to promote World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW), the Society and our Knocking Out AMR project. Below, Akpan Friday shares his insights and reflections on the activity.

Becoming a Microbiology Society Champion has provided me with a new and unique opportunity to think about how we share microbiology beyond the lab. So, when I was invited to see A Microscopic Odyssey at the Edinburgh Fringe, I was intrigued by the opportunity to experience microbiology, not within a lab or through reading a paper, but through theatre.

To mark the month, we spoke to Chien-Yi Chang, a lecturer in the School of Dental Sciences at Newcastle University, about his journey from studying Plant Pathology in Taiwan to researching how bacteria sense and respond to stress, the mentors and colleagues who have shaped his career, and what representation means to him.

Champion, Suchandra Gupta (SGT University, India), recently organised an event in a local village, to help spread the word about antimicrobial resistance and the gut microbiome to secondary school students. Below, Suchandra provides more details and reflects on the experience.

International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples takes place every year on 9 August, raising awareness of the needs of Indigenous population groups, who live in every region of the world and represent the greater part of humanity's cultural diversity. To mark the day this year, Skylar Ann Gay, member of our Members Panel and Member's Panel representative on the Building Communities Committee, reflects on her Indigenous roots and the influences of Indigenous practices woven into microbiology.

Our Champions Scheme allows members to promote microbiology and the Society in their local areas by providing funding and resources for a variety of activities. From October to December 2025, Champion, Damilola Adesuyi (One Health and Development Initiative, Nigeria), organised an outreach project, to promote World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW), the Society and our Knocking Out AMR project. Below, Damilola shares his insights and reflections on the activity.