From the President

This issue of Microbiology Today is packed with good things to whet the appetite for more fascinating microbiology in 2017. Dipping into the issue you will see that the main focus has generated a series of articles that deal with medical microbiology, from fundamental research in virology and bacteriology to clinical trial work on antimicrobials to public health issues.

We know that these types of articles are really appreciated by our members and by those who are looking for up-to-date reviews for teaching purposes – so we thank Nicola Stonehouse, Oluwapelumi Adeyemi, Nicholas Loman, Kate Baker, Lee Haines, Geraldine Foster, Stephen Baker and Michael Baron for their excellent contributions.

It’s not many weeks now until the Society hosts our Annual Conference in Edinburgh. We had a record number of abstract submissions this year and the programme is looking excellent – you can find further information about the event in this issue of Microbiology Today. We are planning to make this Conference a festival of virology, bacteriology and eukaryotic microbiology, as well as a meeting with a lot of networking opportunities and social events. The structure of our meetings is increasingly informed by accurate information about what our members want and like, and the information that you provide through formal solicited feedback, via our social media sites or simply by speaking to Society staff and Council members, is highly valued. Our main Conference is of course not the only forum and watering hole for microbiological research that we organise and you can also read in this issue about the series of Focused Meetings that are planned for 2017. 

Recent figures about our membership are encouraging with our membership numbers increasing over the last two years, and we aim to do more to support you and your work. As part of our commitment to supporting our members please read the article in this issue by Rebecca Hall, representing our newly established Early Career Microbiologists’ Forum – which is now into its stride and is already shaping the Society’s future vision and the day-to-day business of things that get discussed at Council.

This year, we will be working hard on the development of a new five-year strategic plan for the Society that will come into play next year. That plan will demonstrate our ambitions and determination to support microbiology, and shows that we are an organisation that provides both real benefits for our members and a strong voice for our discipline expressed through our publications and policy work. This edition of Microbiology Today also contains information on teaching antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in our education-focused article, Schoolzone, and a policy update on AMR reflecting a busy time for staff working in these areas.

2017 will see the Society producing a major piece of work: our Microbiome Policy Report. Our Microbiome Expert Working Group has recently met to consider the outputs from last year’s stakeholder workshops, and will be working with Society staff on an accessible, evidence-based report that will cover human, animal and environmental microbiomes.

Finally, a happy anniversary to Journal of General Virology, which is celebrating its 50th year and to Microbial Genomics, which is celebrating the completion of its second volume and first full calendar year. We are proud of the full portfolio of journals that the Society publishes and their successes are important since our publishing activities are the major source of income for everything else we do. 

Neil Gow

President
[email protected]