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Jahresbericht 2009 für
SGM/SSM/SSM: Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Mikrobiologie
Präsident/Präsidentin: Herr Prof. Dr. Michel Aragno
Von: Orlando Petrini, orlando.petrini@ti.ch
Zusammenfassung
The activities carried out by the society in 2009 include the organisation of several scientific meetigs, the details of which are reported in the following sections. The SSM has also started using the Internet platform to contact its members by e-mail with newsletters. Mails are regularly sent out to reach a large number of our members. Lausanne hosted the 2009 SSM Annual Assembly. The meeting, entitled “Microbes that rule the world” featured a very attractive programme, with informative sessions and, in addition to good science, provided an excellent social opportunity to members to interact. Our scientific committees have been very active in 2009; in addition to the three already existing ones (General Microbiology, Clinical Microbiology, and Virology), a fourth committee has been created, to accommodate the interests of mycologist. The new commission has started its activities and we are looking forward to its input in 2010. Under the supervision by its president, Prof. Michel Aragno (whose successor for the next period 2010-2012 is Prof. Dr. R. Zbinden), the SSM board has also started to evaluate new ways to increase the SSM visibility in the scientific community, both in Switzerland and abroad.
Publikationen
The society's news are published on a dedicated web site. For statutory reasons a printed "Info" is published and mailed to the members approximately five weeks before the annual congress (2010: June 24-25, to be held at ETHZ in Zurich)
Tagungen / Kurse
The 3rd Microbial Ecology meeting was organized by Astrid Kunz and Thomas Posch from the Limnological Station of the Institute of Plant Biology of the University of Zurich. The meeting attracted almost 100 scientists not only from Switzerland but also a few from neighboring countries. The meeting facilities at the Schweizer Jugend- und Bildungszentrum Einsiedeln provided excellent facilities where most of the participants could be accommodated in-house. In addition to six invited speakers, almost 40 posters and 30 oral presentations were presented, all of excellent quality. It was good and also somewhat surprising to see that the microbial ecology researcher community in Switzerland is so large and lively. It was probably for the first time that researchers interested in soil, air, aquatic and symbiotic habitats gathered in Switzerland for a specialized two-day meeting. In the medical mycology field, several training courses were organised by the working group for continuous education, thus assuring a high level of professional knowledge with our FAMH microbiology title holders and trainees. Training courses for medical practitioners were held in 2009 with the participation of clinical microbiologists. At least three new events are scheduled for 2010. The efforts of the Virology section to bring together human and veterinary virologists in our community have been acknowledged with the organization of the “1st Swiss Fundamental Virology Workshop” in January 2009. This meeting had attracted a number of Swiss virologists, who appreciated the new instrument to share knowledge, to establish collaborations, and, most importantly, to give young scientists the chance to present their work and to encourage them to actively participate at common actions. The positive reactions encouraged also the organizers to follow up the idea and to establish this workshop as a regular meeting of Swiss virologists. Thanks to the support of SSM and other sponsors, the 2nd workshop could be organized and took already place in Gerzensee on February 1-2, 2010. The Mycology Section is currently trying and re-unifying different actors of mycology within the SSM, given that there are no longer organized structures in this area of microbiology in Switzerland. The major starting activity of this section was to attract diverse scientists with a major focus in mycology (basic research, medical diagnostic) to join the mycology section within the SSM. At this time, several discussions have been initiated with Swiss scientists involved in different aspects of mycology.
Internationale Aktivitäten
Medical Mycology: Prof. R. Zbinden and Dr. D. Burki are in permanent contact with their European colleagues to harmonise training in clinical microbiology. The latest project of the laboratory committee of the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences requires at least 4 years of postgraduate training. This will assure its compatibility with European standards. Prof. Jacques Bille represents Switzerland in EUCAST, which elaborates antimicrobial sensitivity standards for Europe. Work is in progress and should soon result in a system of independent standard for antimicrobial sensitivity testing. The reference values for MIC testing are available to date. The breakpoints for disk diffusion will follow in 2011. Virology: The European Virology community has established a European Society of Virology (ESV), which was inaugurated in Rome on April 24, 2009. Prof. Otto Haller, a very active member and representative of the SSM, has been elected as its president. PD Dr. Monika Engels participated at the inaugural meeting as a delegate of the SSM and was elected as one of the revisors of the society. A first congress, including the first general assembly, of the ESV in its new conformation will take place in April this year in Cernobbio (Italy).
Nachwuchsförderung
The SSM actively supported PhD and postdoctial students with travel grants, thus allowing them to attend national and international congresses. The 2009 SSM research award was given to Dr. Socorro Mesa, ETHZ for her work on Bradyrhizobium japonicum.
Forschungsunterstützende Informations- und Koordinationsaufgaben
The society's news are published on a dedicated web site. In addition, the SSM has started using the Internet platform to contact its members by e-mail with newsletters. Mails are regularly sent out to reach a large number of our members.
Dialog mit der Gesellschaft
The SSM is a privileged partner of the Swiss Federal Office for Public Health with respect to medical microbiology issues. Furthermore, the SSM actively contributes to the program of postgraduate training for FAMH specialists in medical laboratory diagnostics, being responsible for the training in microbiology.