Meet the Committees
Issue: World War I
29 May 2014 article
If you’re reading this article there’s a good chance that you’re aware that the Microbiology Society is a membership organisation, and it has been since its inauguration in 1945.
Key decisions about the Society – including our Strategic Plan and recent rebrand – are taken by Council, a group of 14 members who represent the breadth of research knowledge within the Society. Many of the decisions made by the Council are informed by the Society’s Committees, which are chaired by a member of Council and normally include one or more elected members plus relevant members of Society staff. But
what are the different Committees and what role do they play in the Society? We spoke to their respective Chairs to find out.
Communications Committee
The role of the Communications Committee is to inspire and educate people about the discipline of microbiology, including members, students, teachers, journalists and the wider public.
The Communications Committee advises on content for our quarterly magazine, Microbiology Today, and all communications activities. In addition, the Committee helps to develop outreach initiatives and educational resources. The Committee is chaired by Paul Hoskisson, Senior Lecturer at the University of Strathclyde.
WHAT’S YOUR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND?
I’m a microbiologist and a biochemist with an interest in the Actinobacteria, both antibiotic producers and pathogenic strains, such as Streptomyces and Corynebacterium.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE COMMITTEE’S MAIN FUNCTION?
We’re here to communicate the science and art of microbiology to everyone: from the general public through to university researchers. We want to inspire people about the subject; after all, it’s a huge part of their daily life.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE COMMITTEE?
I think it’s important that we get out there and communicate science – we shouldn’t keep it to ourselves. The subject’s too important for that.
WHEN YOU STEP DOWN AS CHAIR, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE COMMITTEE WILL HAVE ACHIEVED?
I really want to leave a legacy of innovative communication about microbiology. We’re making great strides; I want to continue the Society’s embracing of digital media to reach a wider audience and to develop new ways of reaching out to a more diverse audience that would otherwise not know about microbiology!
Finance Committee
The Finance Committee oversees the Society’s finances at strategic and policy levels, providing guidance to senior staff with responsibilities for income, expenditure and investments. The Committee is chaired by Chris Thomas, Professor of Molecular Genetics at the University of Birmingham.
WHAT’S YOUR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND?
I’m a bacterial geneticist investigating bacterial plasmids and antibiotic biosynthesis. I started off as a biochemist looking at DNA replication, I then got interested in plasmids and how they function as mobile genetic elements. This is what led to my current research, looking at how microbes manufacture antibiotics and how resistance occurs.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE COMMITTEE’S MAIN FUNCTION?
We’re responsible for the Society’s big financial decisions. We maintain the reserves that the society has built up, ensuring that the business plan remains appropriate. We’re also looking at things on the horizon – open access publishing, for example – and how they may impact on our finances.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE COMMITTEE?
Well, the main reason is that the Society is, as far as I’m concerned, the key society in the UK that supports my broad scientific interests although I’m a member of other learned societies, the Society is the one I’ve done most with and one I recommend my students join. I’ve been associated with the Society for many years, I feel that at this stage of my career, it’s good that I can give back some of the experience that I’ve gained.
WHEN YOU STEP DOWN AS CHAIR, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE COMMITTEE WILL HAVE ACHIEVED?
Since becoming Treasurer, I’ve learnt what a transition the Society has been having. I hope that I’ll be able to contribute to the development of a stable ‘new-SGM’ that is fit for the 21st century. I also hope that we will have a robust financial base for the Society’s future plans and will have a clear financial investment plan for the future.
Policy Committee
The Policy Committee’s job is to ensure that appropriate scientific information and expert opinion are made available to policy- and decision-makers and that the improvement of resources and infrastructure for microbiology is supported. The Committee: supports the development and publishing of reports to inform parliamentarians, organises and attends parliamentary events, responds to consultations and works with other organisations to respond to science policy issues. The Committee’s chair is Maggie Smith, Professor of Microbiology at the University of York.
WHAT’S YOUR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND?
For my PhD, I studied how Escherichia coli takes up antibiotics, but I wanted to move from microbial physiology to genetics so I went to the University of Leeds Genetics Department. From there I moved to Glasgow, which is where I started to work with Streptomyces, which I still do now.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE COMMITTEE’S MAIN FUNCTION?
We alert policy makers to issues that have a microbiological emphasis. We focus on parliamentarians, the research councils, those in public bodies and, of course, the general public. We’re interested in issues that might have been forgotten – such as our recent work on STIs – and issues that might have a public interest: food microbiology and synthetic biology, for instance.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE COMMITTEE?
I wanted to be part of the Policy Committee as it gives me an opportunity to move away from reductionist research and think about the bigger picture and what microbiologists are doing.
WHEN YOU STEP DOWN AS CHAIR, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE COMMITTEE WILL HAVE ACHIEVED?
I hope that the Committee will have highlighted a number of serious issues in microbiology. We’ve already done one – our briefing document on STIs (bit.ly/17MzSd5) – and a current issue that we’re really grasping is antimicrobial resistance. We’re interested in how the subject moves forward in terms of rebuilding our research infrastructure in order to confront this very serious problem.
Professional Development Committee
The Professional Development Committee oversees delivery of the Society’s strategic priority to promote microbiology as a career and to support the professional development of microbiologists. The Committee’s activities include: the awards of grants and prizes, degree accreditation, post-18 education and career development for individuals at all career stages. The Chair is Sara Burton, Senior Lecturer at the University of Exeter.
WHAT’S YOUR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND?
My career’s been quite varied: I spent a year working at the National Collection of Marine Bacteria in Aberdeen then in a small biotech company in Cardiff for four years. I did a PhD in plant molecular biology; I fell in love with the molecular biology, not the plants and so I moved back to microbiology, working on microbial ecology.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE COMMITTEE’S MAIN FUNCTION?
We are considering how Society opportunities at conferences and beyond may aid career development, through other routes including the Higher Education Academy Fellowships.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE COMMITTEE?
I really wanted to enable members through broad opportunities available through the Society and the discipline, and also to help develop personal development opportunities, which may be recognised by the Society’s activities through routes including HEA Fellowships.
WHEN YOU STEP DOWN AS CHAIR, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE COMMITTEE WILL HAVE ACHIEVED?
The Committee’s already changed hugely from what was previously the Education Group. I hope that in its current form we’ll continue to identify opportunities for the Society’s diverse membership, through broadened opportunities for involvement in the Society, which is formally recognised as career development.
Publishing Committee
The Publishing Committee’s role is to support the success and sustainability of the Society’s publications, providing input and feedback to the Society’s publishing management on the development of new publishing products and services, and to ensure the ongoing success of existing publications. The Chair is Colin Harwood, Professor of Molecular Microbiology at Newcastle University.
WHAT’S YOUR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND?
I started working as a microbial geneticist, but now I’m a molecular microbiologist. My focus is on bacteria from the Bacillus genus; I work on their protein secretion and responses to environmental stress.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE COMMITTEE’S MAIN FUNCTION?
First and foremost, that the Society produces high quality academic journals for the microbiology community and secondly, ensure that the journals remain viable, with any surplus revenue being used to fund our charitable activities.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE COMMITTEE?
I originally joined because I was Treasurer; the journals represent the main source of our income. Because I’ve been Editor-in-Chief of another learned society’s journal, I’ve had a lot of experience in the field over the past 20 years.
WHEN YOU STEP DOWN AS CHAIR, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE COMMITTEE WILL HAVE ACHIEVED?
We’ve undergone a huge reorganisation of the Publishing Department recently. I lead the initial review of the department’s activities and have been supporting the subsequent reconfiguration. As a result, I think we now have a modern publication business that is fit to compete against strong competition in the sector.
Scientific Conferences Committee
The Scientific Conferences Committee oversees the delivery of the Society’s strategic priority to deliver international conferences disseminating research knowledge and providing an opportunity for communication between microbiologists. This is achieved by selecting world-renowned speakers, while still providing opportunities for those new to the field to present their work via interactive workshops and poster sessions. The Committee’s chair is Mark Harris, Professor of Virology at the University of Leeds.
WHAT’S YOUR SCIENTIFIC BACKGROUND?
I’ve been a virologist since I completed my PhD at the University of Glasgow in the mid-80s. My lab works on hepatitis C virus, looking at how it replicates and assembles into new viruses.
WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE COMMITTEE’S MAIN FUNCTION?
Currently, the main function is the organisation and running of the Society’s Annual Conference. We also have oversight of the new Focused Meetings and make decisions on applications for Society-supported conference grants.
WHY DID YOU JOIN THE COMMITTEE?
I’d previously been Chair of the Virus Division Committee and gained a good idea of how conferences were organised, so I felt this was a natural progression – to apply that knowledge to a broader range of activities within the Society.
WHEN YOU STEP DOWN AS CHAIR, WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE COMMITTEE WILL HAVE ACHIEVED?
We’ve gone through a lot of change in the Society, going from two conferences down to one, bringing in the Focused Meetings and working closer with the Biochemical Society on conference infrastructure. I hope that we’ll continue to have successful meetings and a strategy that won’t need too many tweaks over the next few years.
We’re always keen to have enthusiastic members join our Committees – they help shape the Society and make the Society what it is. When a particular Committee is looking for a new member, the position is advertised on our website, (in Microbiology Today) and is highlighted in our monthly e-newsletter.