News

Membership subscription rate increase

At the Society’s Council meeting in July, it was agreed to increase subscription rates for most membership categories from September 2016.

This will be the first increase in three years. During this period we have continued to invest in supporting the membership with the introduction of: new training courses; the Early Career Microbiologists’ Forum; the Champions initiative; more flexible joining options; increased networking opportunities; and an improved calendar of scientific meetings and events. Additionally, we have realigned our grants programme to make it easier for the 600 members we support this way to identify, apply for and report against a grant.

It remains a strategic aim of the Society to keep investing in its membership. Members are currently being consulted on how we can further improve and enhance the membership offering for the future, and the findings from this will help shape a renewed and revised membership offering in 2017.

Please see the table below for the new membership subscription rates.

	Card/cheque	Direct Debit
Full Member	£77	£67
Full Concessionary Member	£35	£30
Postgraduate Student Member	£35	£30
Undergraduate Student Member	£15	£10
International Associate Member (excluding UK and Ireland)	£22	n/a
International Associate Member (middle-income countries)	£22	n/a
International Associate Member (low-income countries)	Free	n/a
School Representative Member	£18	£15
School Corporate Member	£18	£15
Affiliate Member	£15	£10

Antibiotics Unearthed pop-up events

Two successful pop-up events were held this summer at Garwnant Forest, Methyr Tydfil, and Kielder Forest, Northumberland, as part of Antibiotics Unearthed. The team would like to thank the volunteers – without your help, the events would not have been the successes that they were. To find out more about what is currently happening in the Antibiotics Unearthed project, see page 192.

Young Microbiologist of the Year

Lindsay Broadbent, Queen’s University Belfast, was presented with the Young Microbiologist of the Year award for 2016. She gave her talk, entitled ‘The role of IFNλ1 in RSV infection and its potential as a novel anti-RSV prophylactic’, at the Annual General Meeting this September. Mariya Goncheva won second place, with Ethan Morgan and Andrew Frey taking joint third place in the competition.

More details about the Young Microbiologist of the Year finalists can be found on the Society’s website.

Congratulations to our 2017 Prize Lecture winners

The Society is pleased to announce the Prize Lecture winners for 2017. These Prizes are awarded in recognition of significant contributions to the field of microbiology, and each winner will present a Prize Lecture at the Microbiology Society Annual Conference 2017, taking place from 3–6 April in Edinburgh. Please see the news story online for more information about each winner.

Deaths

It is with regret that the Society announces the death of the following members: Dr Jennifer Moyle, who joined the Society in 1956; Professor Harold Perkins, who joined the Society in 1962.

Contact [email protected] if you wish to notify the Society of the death of a member whose details can be included in this section.

Author surveys

Earlier this year, the Microbiology Society surveyed over 800 authors to find out their experience of publishing with our journals. This was a first for the Society, and we would like to extend our thanks to all who took part.

The survey was conducted in May 2016 across five of the Society’s journals: Microbiology, Journal of General Virology, Journal of Medical Microbiology, JMM Case Reports and International Journal of Evolutionary and Systematic Microbiology.

For more information, please see the article in this issue on author surveys.

Leaving a Legacy

Members are now able to remember the Microbiology Society in their Will, helping us to support the future of microbiology and the next generation of microbiologists. Your bequest will help us achieve our vision of a world in which the science of microbiology provides maximum benefit to society. For full details, please see the Society’s website.

Society events

We have had a fantastic run of meetings this year, from the highly successful 2016 Annual Conference to our seven Focused Meetings, including two organised by our Irish Division. For more information on upcoming events for 2017, please see the relevant articles in this issue.

Grants deadlines

Date	Grant
1 December 2016	Travel Grants to present at conferences/attend short courses between 1 January and 31 March 2017.
30 January 2017	Grants for support to attend the Annual Conference 2017.

Grants are changing!

This summer, the Society’s Council approved changes to the grants programme after it was reviewed, to ensure that funds were being used in the best way possible to contribute to our members’ professional development. The changes make our entire programme strategically relevant, address underspending and ensure that we are adding value to the member experience. Members can find out more via the enclosed insert accompanying the magazine and by visiting the grants pages of the website.

We’d like to hear about your membership experience

Thank you to everyone who has taken part in the Membership Research Project, either by completing the questionnaire or participating in a workshop. Your input has been invaluable in helping us gain a deeper understanding of what’s working well and what needs to change for the future. There is still time to have your say – if you have views about our membership offering, please email Paul Easton (Head of Membership Services) at [email protected].

The winner of the £50 Amazon voucher, drawn at random from those who completed the membership questionnaire, is Mohammed R. Mohaisen.

CONTRIBUTIONS AND FEEDBACK

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

CORRECTION

In the last issue of Microbiology Today, we incorrectly printed that penicillin was discovered in Edinburgh.

Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in St Mary’s Hospital, London.

BENJAMIN THOMPSON

Head of Communications
[email protected]