‘Diversity in Microbiology’ collection is open for submissions

23 March 2023

The Microbiology Society is pleased to open the call for submissions to its new collection, ‘Diversity in Microbiology’.

The Society President, Professor Gurdyal Besra, has commissioned a number of articles from under-represented groups, highlighting the talent we have within our Society, and where our members are producing cutting-edge research within microbiology. This collection is open for submissions across our journals portfolio from members of underrepresented ethnic and racial groups, people who are disabled, and of other marginalised backgrounds.

Authors wishing to submit to the collection should do so via the online submission system and note in the cover letter that their submission is intended for the ‘Diversity in Microbiology’ collection. If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]. 

Greater diversity within all that we do will widen the talent pool available for the field of microbiology and create networks of ideas and collaborations, potentially leading to greater development and innovation. Working to be inclusive helps us ensure we have a thriving community, which in turn will pave the way for us to support microbiology into the future.  

The Microbiology Society is a not-for-profit publisher and supports and invests in the microbiology community. All surplus income is invested back into the Society, be it through providing grants, facilitating policy activities, conferences and other activities. All members receive a 30% discount on Open Access (OA) charges and all corresponding authors at Publish and Read institutions are entitled to fee-free Open Access. The Society also has an inclusive OA policy and any corresponding author from a country in Group A or B of the HINARI programme is automatically entitled to a 100% discount on OA charges. 

Image: iStock/Angelina Bambina.

Abstract submissions now open for anaerobe 2023

20 March 2023

We are pleased to announce a call for public abstracts for Anaerobe 2023, taking place 12–14 July 2023, at the Leonardo Hotel Cardiff.
 

Submissions are now open and will close on 12 May 2023 23:59 GMT.

Submit abstract now

This meeting will provide scientific insights into the future impact of anaerobic bacteria on human health and disease, foster interactions amongst Biomedical Scientists, Clinicians and Scientists and encourage engagement of early career microbiologists with established faculty in informal settings and through offered oral, flash poster and poster presentations. The meeting will take a hybrid format with all presenters attending and sharing their posters in person.

To learn more about the meeting and for abstract guidance, please visit the event webpage.

Updates on the meeting can also be found on our Twitter @MicrobioSoc using #Anaerobe23.

Thank you to reviewers for Microbiology Society publications in 2022

13 March 2023

Microbiology Society publications rely on the efforts of reviewers to ensure that we continue to publish high-quality articles. Peer reviewers play a key role in the publishing process by donating their time and expertise to the community, allowing us to further advance the understanding of microbiology.
 

The top reviewers in terms of number of reviews completed, will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution. For the full acknowledgements please view this list.

Reviewer Acknowledgement List

We would also like to thank our authors, readers, and editors for their continued support.

If you would like to become a reviewer for our publications please contact [email protected] with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV. Reviewers are selected for their expertise and experience by editors and need to:

• Be qualified to PhD level (or equivalent) or above in a relevant subject.
• Be an active researcher.
• Have one or more recent publications in peer-reviewed publications of most comparable impact and reputation to our publications.

We have only published the names of reviewers who have agreed to have their names listed.

Image: Society logo .

Reviewers for Microbiology Society publications in 2022

13 March 2023

Microbiology Society publications rely on the efforts of reviewers to ensure that we continue to publish high-quality articles. Peer reviewers play a key role in the publishing process by donating their time and expertise to the community, allowing us to further advance the understanding of microbiology.
 

The top reviewers in terms of number of reviews completed, will receive a certificate to give recognition for their significant contribution. For the full acknowledgements please view this list.

Reviewer Acknowledgement list

We would also like to thank our authors, readers, and editors for their continued support.

If you would like to become a reviewer for our publications please contact [email protected] with details of your research interests and an up-to-date CV. Reviewers are selected for their expertise and experience by editors and need to:

• Be qualified to PhD level (or equivalent) or above in a relevant subject.
• Be an active researcher.
• Have one or more recent publications in peer-reviewed publications of most comparable impact and reputation to our publications.

We have only published the names of reviewers who have agreed to have their names listed.

Image: Society logo .

Professor Sir John Peebles Arbuthnott BSc, MA, PhD, ScD, FIBiol 1939–2023

08 March 2023

John Peebles Arbuthnott died in February 2023 at the age of 83. He was an honorary member of the Microbiology Society which he joined in 1967. He served the Microbiology Society with distinction as Group Convenor (Pathogenicity) from 1972-1976, as a Senior Editor of the Journal of General Microbiology, now Microbiology, from 1980-1983, as a member of the SGM Council (1981-1985) and as Treasurer from 1987-1992. He was Professor of Microbiology in Trinity College Dublin from 1976 to 1988. In 1988 he returned to the UK to take up the position of Professor of Microbiology at the University of Nottingham before returning to his native Glasgow to become Principal and Vice Chancellor of Strathclyde University, where he remained until 2000. He made an impact wherever he worked both as an academic of international standing and by providing academic leadership at the highest level. In 1998 he received a knighthood for services to education. 

Sir John Arbuthnott’s early life and education was in Scotland. Born in Glasgow he attended Hyndland Secondary School and obtained his BSc in Biochemistry and PhD in Bacteriology at the University of Glasgow.  He was appointed to Assistant Lecturer in Glasgow in 1960, rising to Senior Lecturer in 1972 in the Microbiology Department (formerly Bacteriology). His developing reputation for research in bacterial pathogenesis was enhanced by a visiting fellowship in 1966 and 1967 to New York University to work with Alan Bernheimer on staphylococcal alpha-toxin. He returned to the University of Glasgow in early 1968 to take up a four year Royal Society Fellowship.

In his academic career Sir John built an international reputation studying bacterial protein toxins, notably the toxins of Staphylococcus aureus. These included the potent cytolytic membrane-damaging alpha-toxin, the epidermolytic toxin responsible for Scalded Skin Syndrome and the superantigen Toxic Shock Syndrome Toxin-1 (TSST-1). In each case he analysed the mechanism of action of the purified toxin and, following the dictum of Harry Smith, was able to replicate aspects of the human disease in appropriate animal models.  His work investigating a new disease syndrome in menstruating women called Toxic Shock Syndrome that was attributed to the introduction of super-adsorbent tampons was particularly impressive. Sir John’s research showed that strains of S. aureus isolated from TSS cases elaborated a novel protein toxin called TSST-1. His research proved TSST-1 to be the aetiological agent of the disease.   

Sir John was appointed Professor of Microbiology in TCD in 1976.  Interestingly Professor Harry Smith, a former president of the Microbiology Society, and a former external examiner to the Microbiology Department in TCD, was instrumental in persuading him to take that post. During his tenure the Department became well known for its output on bacterial pathogens. He obtained funding from the Normanby Trust to build containment laboratories for recombinant DNA research on bacterial pathogens. This allowed the genetic manipulation of organisms such as S. aureus and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli. Sir John was the Bursar of TCD from 1983-86, experience which served him well when appointed treasurer of the Microbiology Society in 1988. PhD students were always amused to see copies of the Financial Times in his office amid bundles of scientific papers. 

Those who worked in the Microbiology Department TCD remember Sir John as a wise and genial mentor of staff and undergraduate and postgraduate students alike. The highlight of the Senior Sophister year was dinner for the whole class in his house where he and his wife Eleanor would make everyone welcome. His office door was always open, which might have meant being exposed to plumes of pipe smoke. It was fitting that he was the guest of honour at the scientific symposium in 2003 to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the opening of the Moyne Institute. 

In 1988 Sir John took up the position of Professor of Microbiology in Nottingham University before being appointed Principal and Vice-Chancellor of Strathclyde University. He led Strathclyde from 1991 to 2000. This was a period of considerable expansion, during which the former Jordanhill College of Education merged with the University to become its Faculty of Education. In 1998, in addition to presiding over Strathclyde, Sir John was responsible for two major policy reviews in the early years of devolution following the establishment of the Scottish Parliament. He chaired an independent review of resource allocation to NHS authorities, to reflect the social, economic and demographic circumstances of each area, the resulting mechanism becoming known as the Arbuthnott Formula. He also led a commission which assessed Scotland’s varying electoral systems and constituency boundaries following devolution. He subsequently became Chair of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. Sir John’s contributions to Strathclyde University were recognized by a new building on its campus being named after him which houses the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences.

Sir John was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1993 and went on to become its President from 2011–2014. In keeping with his interest in supporting talent it was during his tenure that the RSE Young Academy of Scotland was launched, an initiative to bring young professionals together to nurture talent across all sectors and academic disciplines. He served society as a microbiologist, an educator, and a public servant. Many professional honours were bestowed on Sir John throughout his career in recognition of his leadership and contributions to microbiology, education, and public life. As a proud Glaswegian he particularly cherished the award of the St Mungo Prize in 2010 which honours outstanding contributions by a son or daughter of the city. All who encountered him will remember a gentleman who always insisted on and held himself to the highest of standards. He will be sadly missed by all who knew him. 

Marguerite Clyne, Timothy J. Foster and Cyril J Smyth

Image: The Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Nominations are open for the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMs) Election Committee

07 March 2023

The Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMs) is seeking nominations for committee members to join its Election Committee.

The purpose of the Election Committee is to find talented microbiologists with the skills FEMs is seeking, and to try and ensure individuals on the Board of Directors are from all fields of microbiology, representing all of Europe and fairly split across the genders. The Election Committee itself is intended to comprise of individuals that reflect the variety of FEMS Member Societies.

If you would like to apply, please submit a Nomination Letter from the Microbiology Society alongside a letter outlining the reasons why you would wish to join the FEMS Election Committee via email at [email protected]

The deadline to submit your nomination letter is Sunday 30 April 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact FEMS Secretary General, Branka Vasiljevic via [email protected]

Image: FEMs.

Join the Society’s LGBTQ+ community for a second year at Annual Conference

03 March 2023

Following the success of the LGBTQ+ Networking Event held last year during Annual Conference 2022, we are pleased to announce that a group of our members are hosting a second networking event at Annual Conference 2023.

The event is being organised by three of our Champions, I’ah Donovan-Banfield [she/her] (University of Liverpool, UK), Daniel Gonçalves-Carneiro [he/him] (Rockefeller University, USA), Bruno Francesco Rodrigues de Oliveira [he/him] (Fluminense Federal University, Brazil) and member, Rebee Penrice-Randal [she/they] (University of Liverpool, UK).

This event is open to everyone and in addition to celebrating the LGBTQ+ scientific community, it will provide an opportunity for attendees to talk about their experiences. There will be time to discuss some of the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ microbiologists as well as solutions to combat prejudice and nurture diversity in the workplace.

Join the event from 19:00–20:00 on Wednesday 19 April 2023 at Chai & Crumbs, which is just 7 minutes’ walk from Birmingham International Convention Centre (ICC).

More details, including a link to register, are available on the Annual Conference 2023 Social Programme page.

Image: I’ah Donovan-Banfield.

The Microbiology Society is pleased to announce the winners of the Microbiology best paper of the year in 2022

02 March 2023

The Microbiology Society is pleased to announce the winners for the paper of the year 2022 for Microbiology, as voted for by the Senior Editors.

The three winners are:

1. Michelle Kammel et al. (2022) A single amino acid exchange converts FocA into a unidirectional efflux channel for formate
2. Aathmaja Anandhi Rangarajan et al. (2022)  Ruminococcus bromii enables the growth of proximal Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron by releasing glucose during starch degradation
3. Manjunatha N et al. (2022) Fungal endophytes from salt-adapted plants confer salt tolerance and promote growth in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at early seedling stage

Microbiology, the Microbiology Society’s founding and flagship journal, brings together communities of scientists from all microbiological disciplines and from around the world. Microbiology, is now fully Open Access (OA) – the first of our journals to move from a hybrid to a fully OA model. The journal reflects the diversity and importance of microbiology in addressing current global challenges, such as food security, environmental sustainability and health, by publishing fundamental and applied research across the breadth of the field.  Microbiology publishes high-quality original research on bacteria, fungi, yeast, protists, archaea, algae, parasites, phages and other microscopic life forms.

Submit now to increase your impact, expand your reach, and support your community.