Microbiology Society

Short description: Learned society specialising in microbiology

Microbiology Society

Microbiology Society

Abbreviation| MicroSoc
Formation| 1945
Legal status| Not-for-profit organisation
Purpose| Microbiology
Location|

* London, EC1R
United Kingdom

Region served

| Worldwide

Membership

| 7000 microbiologists

Chief Executive

| Peter Cotgreave

Main organ

| Microbiology Society
Website| www.microbiologysociety.org

The Microbiology Society (previously the Society for General Microbiology) is a learned society based in the United Kingdom with a worldwide membership based in universities, industry, hospitals, research institutes and schools. It is the largest learned microbiological society in Europe.[1] Interests of its members include basic and applied aspects of viruses, prions, bacteria, rickettsiae, mycoplasma, fungi, algae and protozoa, and all other aspects of microbiology. Its headquarters is at 14–16 Meredith Street, London.[2] The Society's current president is Prof. Gurdyal S. Besra.[3] The Society is a member of the Science Council.[4]

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Activities
* 3 Society Prizes
* 4 Presidents
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## History

The society was founded on 16 February 1945 as the Society for General Microbiology. Its first president was Alexander Fleming.[5][6] The Society's first academic meeting was in July 1945[7] and its first journal, the Journal of General Microbiology (later renamed Microbiology), was published in 1947.[5][6] A symposium series followed in 1949, and a sister journal, the Journal of General Virology, in 1967.[6] The society purchased its own headquarters in Reading in 1971, after initially sharing accommodation with the Biochemical Society in London.[5] In 2014 the Society moved to Charles Darwin House, London,[8] sharing the premises with several other learned societies. In 2015, the Society changed its name to the Microbiology Society, after its members voted in favour of the change. In 2019 the Society moved to its new headquarters at 14–16 Meredith Street, London.[2]

## Activities

The Society currently organises a large Annual Conference[9] and a number of smaller Focused Meetings, which cover a specific microbiology discipline. It publishes a magazine, Microbiology Today[10] (formerly SGM Quarterly), and academic journals in virology and microbiology:

* Microbiology
* International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology
* Journal of General Virology
* Journal of Medical Microbiology
* Microbial Genomics
* Access Microbiology
* JMM Case Reports (now closed)[11]

## Society Prizes

The Microbiology Society awards a range of prizes[12] in recognition of significant contributions to microbiology.

In 2009, the Society announced the Society for General Microbiology Prize Medal, awarded annually to a microbiologist of international standing whose work has had a far-reaching impact beyond microbiology. The first medal was awarded to Stanley Prusiner. The recipient of the Prize Medal gives a lecture based on the work for which the award has been made, which is usually published in a Society journal. In 2015, the prize was renamed the Microbiology Society Prize Medal.

The Marjory Stephenson Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding contribution of current importance in microbiology. The winner receives £1000 and gives a lecture on his/her work at a Society meeting. The lecture is usually published in a society journal. Marjory Stephenson was the second president of the Society (1947–1949) and a distinguished pioneer of chemical microbiology.[13]

The Fleming Prize Lecture is awarded annually to recognise outstanding research in any branch of microbiology by a microbiologist in the early stages of his/her career. Sir Alexander Fleming was the first President of the Society (1945–1947) and received a Nobel Prize for his discovery of penicillin.

The Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year Competition is presented annually to a Society member who is a PhD student or early-career postdoctoral researcher. The competition is judged on the participants' oral or poster presentations at Society conferences. The prize was renamed in 2009 in honour of the late Howard Dalton.

The Peter Wildy Prize Lecture is awarded annually for contribution to microbiology education or communication. It is named after Peter Wildy, a virologist and was established in 2001.[14]

The Microbiology Outreach Prize was established in 2009.[15]

## Presidents

Source: Microbiology Society

* 1945–1947 Sir Alexander Fleming, FRS
* 1947–1948 Marjory Stephenson, FRS
* 1949–1952 J. Walter McLeod, FRS
* 1952–1955 Henry J. Bunker
* 1955–1957 Sir Christopher Andrewes, FRS
* 1957–1959 Sir Ashley Miles
* 1959–1961 Sir Frederick Charles Bawden, FRS
* 1961–1963 Reginald Lovell
* 1963–1965 David Willis Wilson Henderson, FRS
* 1965–1967 Percy Wragg Brian, FRS
* 1967–1969 Ernest Frederick Gale, FRS
* 1969–1972 Sidney R. Elsden
* 1972–1975 Sir David Gwynne Evans, FRS
* 1975–1978 Harry Smith, FRS
* 1978–1981 Peter Leete Wildy, FRSE
* 1981–1984 Roger Writtenbury
* 1984–1987 John R. Postgate, FRS
* 1987–1990 Derek Clissold Burke

* 1990–1993 J. Rodney Quayle, FRS
* 1993–1994 J. G. Jones
* 1994–1997 Anthony P. J. Trinci
* 1997–2000 Sir Howard Dalton, FRS
* 2000–2003 David Hopwood, FRS
* 2003–2006 T. Hugh Pennington, FRSE
* 2006–2009 Robin Anthony Weiss, FRS
* 2009–2012 Hilary Lappin-Scott
* 2012–2015 Nigel L. Brown
* 2016–2018 Neil A. R. Gow, FRS
* 2019–2022 Judith Armitage, FRS

|

## References

1. ↑ "Microbiology Society Home". Homepage. Microbiology Society. http://www.microbiologysociety.org/index.cfm. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Contact us | Microbiology Society". microbiologysociety.org. https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/contact-us.html. Retrieved 2019-08-22.
3. ↑ "Council | Microbiology Society". https://microbiologysociety.org/why-microbiology-matters/council-governance/council-members.html.
4. ↑ "The Science Council". sciencecouncil.org. http://www.sciencecouncil.org.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Our History". Homepage. Microbiology Society. http://www.microbiologysociety.org/about-us/our-history/index.cfm. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Postgate J (July 1995). "Fifty years of the SGM". Trends in Microbiology 3 (7): 249–50. doi:10.1016/S0966-842X(00)88935-0. PMID 7551634.
7. ↑ "Our History". Microbiology Society. http://www.microbiologysociety.org/about-us/our-history/timeline.cfm. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
8. ↑ "Charles Darwin House > Home". charlesdarwinhouse.co.uk. http://charlesdarwinhouse.co.uk/.
9. ↑ Microbiology Society. "Annual Conference". microbiologysociety.org. https://microbiologysociety.org/events/annual-conference.html.
10. ↑ Microbiology Society. "Microbiology Today Magazine". microbiologysociety.org. https://www.microbiologysociety.org/publications/microbiology-today/current-issue.html.
11. ↑ JMM Case Reports. https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmmcr/.
12. ↑ Society for General Microbiology. "Prize Lectures". sgm.ac.uk. http://www.sgm.ac.uk/en/grants-prizes/prize-lectures.cfm.
13. ↑ "SGM : Grants & Prizes : Prize Lectures : Marjory Stephenson Prize Lecture". Homepage. Society for General Microbiology. http://www.microbiologysociety.org/grants-prizes/all-grants.cfm/marjory-stephenson-prize-lecture. Retrieved 2014-05-28.
14. ↑ "Peter Wildy Prize Lecture". https://microbiologysociety.org/grants-prizes/all-prizes-and-competitions-/prize-lectures/peter-wildy-prize-lecture.html. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
15. ↑ "Microbiology Outreach Prize". https://microbiologysociety.org/grants/all-grants-prizes/microbiology-outreach-prize.html.

## External links

* Microbiology Society - education website

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