News

Annual General Meeting

The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Microbiology Society will be held on Thursday, 17 September 2015 at 16:00 in the Auditorium of Charles Darwin House, 12 Roger Street, London WC1N 2JU. All those eligible to vote – Full, Full Concessionary, Postgraduate Student and Honorary Members – should have received the relevant papers with this issue of Microbiology Today.

The day will also feature presentations from the Young Microbiologist of the Year Finalists, the Microbiology Outreach Prize winner and a Special Lecture from Professor Dame Anne Glover, former Chief Scientific Adviser of the European Commission.

All members are invited to attend what promises to be an informative and enjoyable afternoon, with ample opportunity to network during a drinks reception after the day’s activities. If you would like to attend the AGM, please email Rosie Waterton in advance at [email protected]. The agenda can be found online.

New publishing platform and rebranded journals

The Society’s publishing team have launched a new online platform where all our peer-reviewed journal articles can be viewed. The journals have also been rebranded in a modern and contemporary design that fits with our corporate identity. Find out more on this page.

2015 Young Microbiologist of the Year Finalists announced

The Society is delighted to announce the eight finalists for the annual Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year Award. The prize recognises and rewards excellence in science communication as the finalists are selected by the Society Divisions from their presented poster or oral at the Society’s Annual Conference or Irish Division Meeting.

The 2015 finalists are:

VIROLOGY DIVISION

Eleonora Melzi, University of Glasgow
Ben Krishna, University of Cambridge

EUKARYOTIC DIVISION

Andrew Watson, Newcastle University
Christopher Miller, University of Kent

PROKARYOTIC DIVISION

Megan de Ste Croix, University of Leicester
Joseph Kirk, University of Sheffield

IRISH DIVISION

Stephanie Flynn, University of Cork
Samantha Chui-Sang Lee, National University of Ireland and the Marine Institute Galway

The eight finalists will each give a presentation of their work at the Society’s AGM and 70th anniversary event on 17 September 2015. The first, second and third prizes will be awarded after the AGM at the Society’s President’s Dinner.

Events build links between science and policy

The Society’s Policy team attended two events in May, at the Senedd in Cardiff and the Houses of Parliament, which saw the strengthening of links between the science community and policy-makers. At Science and the Assembly in Cardiff, attendees heard a series of scientific presentations on the theme of ‘Energy and the Environment’, which was followed by an exhibition and reception where Members of the Welsh Assembly liaised with scientists and the learned societies. At Parliamentary Links Day in Westminster – the first major science policy event of the new parliament – an audience including MPs, Lords and Civil Servants heard talks about ‘Science and the New Parliament’.

Find out more about the Policy team’s work in the 'Microbiology Matters' article.

Microbial Genomics

The first articles in the Society’s newest online-only, open access journal, Microbial Genomics (MGen), were published last month and are free to read on the journal’s website. MGen has also introduced a new section called ‘Standing on the Shoulders of Giants’, featuring interviews with pioneers in biology, who have contributed to the field of microbial genomics, and dedications to ground-breaking articles, all selected by our editorial board members. MGen has a gold open access policy, high-quality peer-reviewing system and features a mandatory open data policy. Read the journal or submit your article on the MGen website.

European Congress of Virology (ECV)

The ECV, organised by the European Society for Virology, will take place from 19 to 22 October 2016 in Hamburg, Germany. The ECV virology conference will bring together both junior and senior scientists, and cover all aspects of virus research including basic, clinical, veterinary and plant virology.

Focused Meetings series

The following events will be taking place over the next few months:

INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON ARBOVIRUSES AND THEIR VECTORS (IMAV)

7–8 September 2015

THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING ON THE INVASIVE FUNGUS

7–9 September 2015

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS OF METAL–MICROBE INTERACTIONS

9–10 November 2015

Find out more on the Conferences article.

Grant deadlines

Date	Grant	Notes
1 September 2015	Travel Grants	For conferences and courses from 1 October onwards*
15 September 2015	Microbiology in Schools Fund	For School Members to receive funding for microbiology teaching initiatives taking place on or after 1 November
1 October 2015	Research Visit Grants	For visits and events from 1 December onwards
	International Development Fund
	Education and Outreach Grants
31 November 2015	Hayes-Burnet and Heatley-Payne Awards	See website for details

ROLLING APPLICATION

Local Microbiology Event Sponsorship

All members can apply for funds to support microbiology-related events, e.g. sponsored talks.

*Please note, you do not need to have received confirmation of abstract acceptance to apply for these grants as conditional offers will be made. In this case, evidence of acceptance is required to claim your grant.

New Editors-in-Chief for two Society journals

The Microbiology Society’s Publishing department is delighted to announce that, as of 1 July 2015, Dr Tanya Parish now serves as the Editor-in-Chief of Microbiology, where she has succeeded Dr Agnès Fouet in the role. From the same date, Professor Mark Harris now joins Dr Stacey Efstathiou as Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of General Virology. Of the new appointments, Publishing Committee Chair Professor Charles Dorman said: “It is particularly gratifying for the Society to have been able to recruit scientists of such high calibre and editorial experience to these important positions and I wish them every success in their new roles”.

Contributions and feedback

The Society welcomes contributions and feedback from members. Please contact [email protected] with ideas.

BENJAMIN THOMPSON

Head of Communications
[email protected]