Blog - Microbe Post

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’.

Each month, the Microbiology Society publishes the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, which details newly discovered species of bacteria, fungi and protists. New to Science is a monthly blog series unravelling these latest microbial discoveries.

📣 Episode 187 is out now! It's the most abundant eukaryotic microbe in humans… But what role does it play in our bodies? For decades, Blastocystis has been thought of as a parasite just like other protists that lurk within humans, such as Plasmodium or Giardia. But research is increasingly finding the opposite to be true, and scientists across the world are fighting to change this perception.

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.

Dr Mehrad Hamidian at the University of Technology, Australia, takes us behind the scenes of their latest publication 'The (un)successful global spread of Acinetobacter baumannii ST3', published in Microbial Genomics.

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.

Each month, the Microbiology Society publishes the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, which details newly discovered species of bacteria, fungi and protists. New to Science is a monthly blog series unravelling these latest microbial discoveries.

MP Biomedicals recently partnered with the Microbiology Society to deliver a free to attend technical workshop designed to equip participants with advanced sample processing skills and best practices for DNA and RNA extraction.

📣 Episode 186 is out now! This month, Lilly welcomes Dr Jason Brown from the University of Glasgow to discuss his latest research findings using cold atmospheric plasma (CAP), a form of ionised gas, against biofilms in wound infections. Listen in to hear their discussion of what CAP therapy is, how it works, and why this treatment could be a useful alternative to antibiotics. 

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.

Each month, the Microbiology Society publishes the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, which details newly discovered species of bacteria, fungi and protists. New to Science is a monthly blog series unravelling these latest microbial discoveries.

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.

Supported by the Education and Outreach Grant, the AMR graphic novel project is an incredible cross-disciplinary project bringing together scientific expertise and creative art to produce an open-resource graphic novel.

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.

📣 Episode 185 is out now! This month, Lilly welcomes Dr Hannah Trivett from the University of Birmingham to the podcast, to discuss her latest publication bringing patient and public involvement (PPI) and microbial genomics research together for the first time ever. Listen in to hear their discussion of what the public think about effective science communication and how researchers can benefit from incorporating this into their work.

Dr Seána Duggan at the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology (MRC CMM) at the University of Exeter, UK, takes us behind the scenes of their latest publication Copper-driven mutualism of Candida albicans and Staphylococcus aureus interkingdom biofilms, published in Microbiology.

Each month, the Microbiology Society publishes the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology, which details newly discovered species of bacteria, fungi and protists. New to Science is a monthly blog series unravelling these latest microbial discoveries.