Microbiology Today October 2020 Issue: Fleming Prize winners
20 October 2020
The October 2020 issue of Microbiology Today is available to read online now. This special anniversary edition demonstrates why microbiologists matter through a series of interviews with six previous Fleming Prize winners, who detail their career experiences, lessons they have learned along the way and provide their personal take on the importance of microbiology.
In this issue, we share activities that have been taking place to celebrate 75 years since our founding. Continuing from his article in the last issue, Nigel Brown shares part two of a brief history of the Society.
Interviewed by three members of her research group, Peter Wing, James Harris and Xiaodong Zhuang, Jane McKeating discusses her research on glycoprotein diversity in HIV, which led to her receiving the Fleming Prize in 1995. Further, she details her current work on hepatitis viruses.
Stephen Diggle discusses the potential impact of his research on bacterial communication and how microbiome research is changing the way we think about disease, with Madeline Mei. Whilst reflecting on winning the Fleming Prize in 2010, he shares some advice for early career researchers.
Former President of the Society and 1993 Fleming Prize winner Neil Gow shares his experiences and talks about researching how the fungal cell wall is recognised by immune cells to determine ways to kill pathogenic fungi with Dhara Malavia.
Lynne Boddy, who won the Fleming Prize in 1991, speaks to Sarah Christofides about her work on the ecology of wood decay fungi, whilst highlighting the importance of fungal microbiology, which is often overlooked.
The 2020 Fleming Prize winner, Edze Westra, who won the award for his work studying the molecular aspects of CRISPR-Cas immune systems of bacteria and their evolutionary ecology, and speaks to Rebecca Hall about what it means to win the prize at his career stage. He also shares his thoughts on where he sees his field in the future.
Alex Finney interviews Frank Sargent on how his research on Tat export pathways has evolved since winning the Fleming Prize in 2006. Frank explains the importance of being adaptable and how technology has helped to advance his research.
In the Comment article for this issue, Arthur P. Guruswamy and Ciara Noelle Smith address the issue of social media and false news during a pandemic. They highlight the importance of becoming responsible consumers of information by questioning the credibility of the source.
This issue also contains details on our upcoming digital events, an Early Career Microbiologists’ Forum update, a member Q&A with Fritz Ka-Ho Ho, a spotlight on Research Visit Grants and more.
Watch our video below to learn more about the Fleming Prize winners.
