Overview
Each year, the Early Career (EC) Forum hosts its flagship Summer Conference dedicated to showcasing early career research from across microbiology. It serves as an ideal career development and networking opportunity for early career members. As a peer-led conference, it is designed to offer an introductory and friendly atmosphere to scientific conferences and professional development opportunities.
Alongside presented scientific research, delegates have the opportunity to experience professional development sessions focused on preparing you for the next steps in your career, and networking sessions to meet other microbiologists at your career level as well as interact with invited speakers who are more established in their careers.
All people who identify as an early career researcher including Undergraduate, Masters and PhD students, as well as postdoctoral researchers are welcome to attend.
Preparation is now well underway for this year’s Early Career (EC) Forum Summer Conference (#ECConf26), which will be held at The Exchange, University of Birmingham on 6th and 7th of July. This year, there is no theme, we are embracing early career research from all areas of microbiology from across the four divisions of the Society.
Details about an informal social on the evening of 6th July will be available in the coming months. The Society ensures that venues acquired for its events adhere to most accessibility requirements.
Organising committee:
Rebecca McHugh - University of Glasgow
Kasia Parfitt - University of Oxford
David Mark - University of Glasgow
Aoife Mulry - Teagasc
Elizabeth Cummins – University of Oxford
Rosemary Blake – University of Edinburgh
Abbie Storan – University of Huddersfield
Natalie Lamont – University of Sunderland
Programme
Session View
Monday 06 July, Afternoon
ECMoY Poster Final: Flash presentations
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Breaking the MRSA resistance barrier: Synergy between AHA-1394 and β-lactam antibiotics
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Exploring strain-specific D-glutamate sensitivity of pathogenic E. coli using lab-based evolution
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Investigation of novel methods to study the survival of foot-and-mouth disease virus in aerosols
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Airborne Fungal Diversity and Azole-Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in a Care Home Environment
Lecture View
Monday 06 July
-
Registration
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Networking ice-breaker
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Welcome
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Keynote lecture: TBC
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Lunch and Networking
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Breaking the MRSA resistance barrier: Synergy between AHA-1394 and β-lactam antibiotics
-
Exploring strain-specific D-glutamate sensitivity of pathogenic E. coli using lab-based evolution
-
Investigation of novel methods to study the survival of foot-and-mouth disease virus in aerosols
-
Airborne Fungal Diversity and Azole-Resistant Aspergillus fumigatus in a Care Home Environment
-
Offered talk: From Waste to Taste: Developing a Novel and Healthy Plant-based Water Kefir Beverage
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Offered talk: Nutrient-Driven Control of Fungal Architecture in 2D and 3D Systems: Microscopic Mapping and AI-Based Analysis
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Offered talk: aiSourcePro: A Scalable Framework for Machine Learning–Based Source Attribution in Bacterial Genomics
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Offered talk: Linking Longitudinal Microbiome Dynamics with Adaptive Evolution reveals resistance mechanisms in Diabetic Foot Ulcer-associated pathogens
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Professional Development Session
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Poster Session A
Tuesday 07 July
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Careers session
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Invited talk: Early Career Microbes: Building a Healthy Microbiome Start
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Break
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Invited talk: Hopes, Aspirations, and Chronic Respiratory Disease
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Offered talk: Investigating the Functional Significance of Influenza A Virus Morphology
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Offered talk: Hiding in plain sight - RNA polymerase plasticity reveals S. aureus subpopulations
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Offered talk: An in-vitro model of late-stage plague infection for the investigation of immune modulating drugs
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Offered talk: Tinker, Tailor, Probiotic regulator of SPI: Uncovering hilA modulators of SPI-1 T3SS in Salmonella grown in probiotic cell-free conditioned media.
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Lunch and Poster Session B
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Invited talk: Advancing genetic tools for natural product discovery in Basidiomycota fungi
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Offered talk: Co-Production of blaCTX-M and blaNDM in CRE: An Emerging Crisis in Uropathogens
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Offered talk: Benchmarking strain-level profiling of Escherichia coli in short-read gut metagenomes
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Offered talk: Historical isolates provide insights into the evolution of Acinetobacter baumannii international clone 2 and its resistome
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Offered talk: Reconstructing and redefining an “ancientbiotic” into a modern treatment for chronic bacterial biofilm infections
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Break
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Invited talk: TBC
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Offered talk: Beyond Directed Evolution: A Multidomain Mining Pipeline to Enhance Rhamnolipid Biosynthesis.
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Offered talk: Prophage-encoded lytic enzymes in Helicobacter pylori and their potential as antimicrobials
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Offered talk: Optimising stool preservation methods to overcome cold chain constraints for the diagnosis of enteric RNA viral diseases
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Prize Announcement & Closing Remarks
Registration
Registration for the Early Career Summer Conference 2026 is now open.
Registration fees
|
Tier |
Rate |
|
EC Forum Member |
£100 |
|
Microbiology Society Member |
£113 |
|
Non-member |
£140 |
Members of the EC Forum are eligible for subsidised registration fees for the EC Forum Summer Conference. Join now to enjoy these discounts and many other opportunities that are designed for microbiologists at all stages of their career.
What's included in your registration fee?
An introductory experience of scientific conferences in a peer-led environment.
Scientific sessions discussing the latest research from EC Forum members.
Full access to scientific poster sessions.
Professional development sessions tailored to those in the early stages of their microbiology careers.
Buffet lunch.
Tea and coffee breaks.
Access to CPD (Continuing Professional Development) points.
Certificate of attendance (available after the conference upon request)
Registration confirmation
Upon registration, you should receive an automated confirmation email. Please contact [email protected] if, after 24 hours, this has not been received.
Cancellations
Refunds are not provided, however substitutions of attendees can be made at any time before the event by contacting [email protected].
Abstracts, Grants & Professional development
Abstracts
Abstract submissions for the 2026 Early Career Summer Conference are now closed.
Grants
Grant applications for this event will open on 1 May and close on 15 May, 23:59 GMT. For more information about grants available to delegates, please follow this link.
CPD
We are in the process of applying for CPD accreditation for the event and will update this once it has been approved.
Venue, Destination & Accessibility
The meeting will take place at The Exchange, University of Birmingham
3 Centenary Square
Birmingham
B1 2DR
Travel
Detailed directions from to The Exchange are available on the venue’s website.
Accessibility
For venue accessibility specifics, please follow this link. If you have any questions regarding accessibility for this event, please email [email protected].
Exhibition & sponsorship
To register your interest in either sponsoring or exhibiting at this event, please email [email protected].