News

Coming soon – a new online platform and submissions system for Publishing

The Society’s Publishing team is entering an exciting time of change. Over the next year, the Publishing team will be working hard with Publishing Technology to design, develop and launch a brand new platform to host the Society’s publications. Journal content will be enriched to allow better searching and indexing, and the new platform will present an up-to-date and fresh look. The new sites will launch in summer 2015.

As well as this change, the Society will be transitioning its manuscript tracking system from Bench>Press to Editorial Manager (owned by Aries Systems) in autumn 2014. We have also selected Aries Systems to provide a new production tracking system (ProduXion Manager). Editorial Manager is a streamlined submission system that contains all of the modern features that authors expect. The ProduXion Manager tool means that authors will be able to log in to view the status of their article from submission through to publication, making the publishing process more transparent and simple to follow.

If you have any questions about the forthcoming changes please contact the Publishing team via email at [email protected].

2015 Microbiology Society Journals pricing now available

The 2015 journal pricing is now available, for further information visit the journals website.

Upcoming grant deadlines

GRANT DEADLINE

• 01/09/2014 Travel Grants For conferences and courses, from 1 October onwards
• 22/09/2014 Society Conference Grants, for the Focused Meeting on Modelling Microbial Infection (17–18 November)
• 01/10/2014 Research Visit Grants, for visits from 1 December onwards
• 01/10/2014 International Development Fund, for visits from 1 December onwards
• 01/10/2014 Watanabe Book Fund
• 01/10/2014 Education and Outreach Grants
• 30/11/2014 Hayes-Burnet and Heatley-Payne Grants

Rolling application: Microbiology in Schools Fund – School members can apply (at least three months in advance) for funds to support microbiology-related teaching projects.

Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Celebration of the Society’s Work

The AGM of the Microbiology Society and Celebration of the Society’s Work will be held on Thursday 11 September 2014 from 13.30 to 18.15. The AGM is at 15:45 in the Auditorium of Charles Darwin House, 12 Roger Street, London WC1N 2JU.

The celebration will begin with the presentation of the 2014 Outreach Prize (see below). This will be followed by the Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year finalists giving 10-minute oral presentations. These presentations will be judged and the three best entries will be awarded prizes. Following the AGM there will be a Special Lecture and drinks reception. All members are invited to attend what promises to be both an informative and enjoyable afternoon with ample opportunity to network during the drinks reception. If you would like to attend, please email Rosie Waterton in advance at  [email protected].

PROGRAMME

13.30–13:45 – Outreach Prize Award
13:45–15:45 – Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year presentations
15:45 – AGM
16:30–17:15 – Special Lecture by Professor Melanie Welham, Director of Science at BBSRC
17:15–18:15 – Drinks reception with showcase of the Society’s work and the 2014 Outreach Prize winner

AGM AGENDA

1. Introduction by the Chair
2. Minutes of the 2013 Annual General Meeting
3. Matters arising from the Minutes
4. Financial Report
   1. Receiving of the Annual Accounts
   2. Appointment of Auditor
   3. Approval of membership subscription rates
5. New Members of Council, Committees and Divisions 2014
6. Special Resolution – amended Articles of Association
7. Any other business: Presidential election

Supporting papers can be downloaded from the About us section.

DR PETER COTGREAVE, COMPANY SECRETARY

Outreach Prize

Awarded annually to a microbiologist who has engaged in high-quality outreach activities during the last 2–5 years; the 2014 Prize has been awarded to Dr Joana Alves Moscoso from Imperial College London. She will receive her award and give a presentation on Celebrating Diversity in Science at the Society’s AGM and Celebration of its Work (see above). She will be on hand during the drinks reception to talk further about her outreach work.

Dates for your diary

STI play, If It’s Not On, It’s Not On at the Arts Depot Theatre, London (8–11 September) – The Society, together with Théâtre Sans Frontières, would like to invite you to our play, If It’s Not On, It’s Not On. The play follows the story of Luke, from his first awkward sexual experience through to frank discussions with his friends and his Dad, in a humorous adventure through the history of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Both Luke and the audience will discover the facts behind STIs, where to get help and advice, and much more. This play is aimed at anyone over the age of 14, carers, educators, and anyone who wants to know more about this subject. Tickets are available free of charge via Eventbrite.

UK Fungus Day (11–12 October) – The British Mycological Society with support from academics, field mycologists, educators and industry will be holding the UK Fungus Day event to raise awareness of fungi and fungal science. Events covering various regions across the UK and Ireland will take place. For further information visit the UK Fungus Day website.

Biology Week (12–18 October) – Biology Week is a celebration of all aspects of the biosciences. It is organised by the Society of Biology. For further information visit their website.

Behind-the-scenes guided tour of the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum (20 November) – Join us for an exclusive tour, designed specifically for Society members. The 60-minute tour will take members around many of the Museum’s hidden treasures. The eight available places will be allocated by prize draw. To enter, simply tell us in no more than 50 words: what is your favourite microbe and why? Entries close on Monday 1 September 2014. Please email entries to our Grants & Membership Officer, Maria Fernandes ([email protected]).

Guided tour of the Hunterian Museum, London (27 November) – The tour will feature John Hunter’s collections and an insight into his contributions to modern surgery. Places are limited and on a first-come first-serve basis. Participation will cost £5 to cover the charges of the tour. Please email Maria Fernandes ([email protected]) to attend.

News of members

Congratulations to the following Society members:

On the occasion of the Queen’s 2014 Birthday Honours, Professor Polly Roy of the London School of Health & Tropical Medicine was awarded an OBE for services to virus research. Professor Roy has been a Society member since 1990.

Dr Julian Parkhill of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a Society member since 1990, was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society on 30 April 2014.

Dr Julian Davies, of the University of British Columbia and an Honorary member of the Society, was elected a Foreign Associate of the US National Academy of Sciences.

Sir John Skehel of the Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical Research was elected a foreign member of the US National Academy of Sciences. Sir John has been a Society member since 1973.

Society Council Member Dr Paul Hoskisson of the University of Strathclyde was appointed to The Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Young Academy of Scotland (YAS). Dr Hoskisson has been a member since 1998.

The Society would like to extend warm congratulations to Professor Roy, Sir John, Dr Parkhill, Dr Davies and Dr Hoskisson.

Deaths

We regret to announce the death of Dr Mick O’Connell of Dublin City University who passed away on 30 May. He had previously been involved in the Society’s Irish Branch and his research was in the area of   siderophore-mediated iron transport. In the May edition of Microbiology Today we notified members that Professor Lorna Casselton had passed away – read her full obituary in this issue.

Focused Meeting – Modelling Microbial Infection

An excellent opportunity to attend the Society’s second Focused Meeting on Modelling Microbial Infection and network with key researchers working in this field. This meeting is also a great forum for early career researchers and students to present their work in a relaxed and supportive environment.

The meeting on Modelling Microbial Infection will take place from 17 to 18 November at Charles Darwin House in London. The closing date for abstract submissions is midday on Monday 22 September. Online registration will close at midnight on Thursday 13 November, with early-bird fees available until midnight on 18 October. To qualify for Society Member rates, membership subscriptions must be paid by Friday 17 October.

DARIEL BURDASS

Director of Strategy and Communications
[email protected]