Nominations for the Microbiology Outreach Prize now welcomed

15 April 2020

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Nominations for the Microbiology Outreach Prize, awarded to individuals or groups of microbiologists who have demonstrated an outstanding outreach initiative, are now open. All members are invited to submit a nomination for consideration by the Prize Award Panel.

The team or individual responsible for the winning initiative will receive £500 and will be invited to deliver a talk or demonstration of their activities at the Annual Society Showcase later this year.

In 2018, Dr Senga Robertson-Albertyn, University of Dundee, was awarded the Microbiology Outreach Prize for her project Microbe Motels: How to make a Healthy Poo.

Microbe Motels: How to make a Healthy Poo is a simple and effective outreach initiative that was originally intended to communicate the human microbiota to primary school children and, due to its versatile nature, can be successfully adapted to different audiences.

Senga said of her award: ‘I was, and remain to be, very grateful and humbled to have been awarded the Microbiology Society prize for outreach in 2018 and to have been invited to share my passion for outreach and the benefits it can have as part of research at several Microbiology Society events. I would like to encourage all of this year’s nominations, this work is integral to research.’

Since winning her award, Senga has continued to enrich her research with remaining heavily involved in outreach work ranging from workshops to help others to start their outreach journey to science festivals and animation projects.

The Society is committed to creating and encouraging a diverse and inclusive culture within our membership and the microbiology community, and welcome members to consider the full breadth of the field when making nominations.

Nominations for our Microbiology Outreach Prize are open until 10 June 2020. For questions about nominations please contact [email protected].


Image: Emma Alexander, University of Dundee.