The Microbiology Society (previously the Society for General Microbiology) is a

learned society A learned society (; also learned academy, scholarly society, or academic association) is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline, profession, or a group of related disciplines such as the arts and science. Membership ma ...

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. Interests of its members include basic and applied aspects of

virus A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea. Since Dmitri Ivanovsky' ...

es,

prion Prions are misfolded proteins that have the ability to transmit their misfolded shape onto normal variants of the same protein. They characterize several fatal and transmissible neurodegenerative diseases in humans and many other animals. It i ...

s, bacteria,

rickettsia ''Rickettsia'' is a genus of nonmotile, gram-negative, nonspore-forming, highly pleomorphic bacteria that may occur in the forms of cocci (0.1 μm in diameter), bacilli (1–4 μm long), or threads (up to about 10 μm long). The term "ricke ...

mycoplasma ''Mycoplasma'' is a genus of bacteria that, like the other members of the class ''Mollicutes'', lack a cell wall around their cell membranes. Peptidoglycan (murein) is absent. This characteristic makes them naturally resistant to antibiotics ...

fungi A fungus ( : fungi or funguses) is any member of the group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds, as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, separately from ...

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular m ...

and

protozoa Protozoa (singular: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are a group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic tissues and debris. Histo ...

, and all other aspects of

microbiology Microbiology () is the scientific study of microorganisms, those being unicellular (single cell), multicellular (cell colony), or acellular (lacking cells). Microbiology encompasses numerous sub-disciplines including virology, bacteriology, ...

. Its headquarters is at 14–16 Meredith Street, London. The Society's current president is Prof. Judy Armitage. The Society is a member of the Science Council.

History

The society was founded on 16 February 1945 as the Society for General Microbiology. Its first president was

Alexander Fleming Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of wh ...

. The Society's first academic meeting was in July 1945 and its first

journal A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: * Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

, the ''Journal of General Microbiology'' (later renamed ''Microbiology''), was published in 1947. A symposium series followed in 1949, and a sister journal, the ''

Journal of General Virology ''Journal of General Virology'' is a not-for-profit peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Microbiology Society. The journal was established in 1967 and covers research into animal viruses, insect viruses, plants viruses, fungal viruses, ...

'', in 1967. The society purchased its own headquarters in Reading in 1971, after initially sharing accommodation with the

Biochemical Society The Biochemical Society is a learned society in the United Kingdom in the field of biochemistry, including all the cellular and molecular biosciences. Structure It currently has around 7000 members, two-thirds in the UK. It is affiliated with th ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In 2014 the Society moved to Charles Darwin House, London, 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.

Activities

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

International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology The ''International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology'' is a peer-reviewed scientific journal covering research in the field of microbial systematics that was established in 1951. Its scope covers the taxonomy, nomenclature, ...

'' *''

'' *'' Journal of Medical Microbiology'' *''Microbial Genomics'' *''Access Microbiology'' *''JMM Case Reports'' (now closed)

Society Prizes

The Microbiology Society awards a range of prizes 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 Stanley Benjamin Prusiner (born May 28, 1942) is an American neurologist and biochemist. He is the director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases at University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Prusiner discovered prions, a class of ...

. 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 Microbiology Society Prize Medal is awarded annually by the Microbiology Society to those who have made an impact beyond microbiology and are world leaders in their field. It was introduced in 2009 as the Society for General Microbiology Prize M ...

. The

Marjory Stephenson Prize The Marjory Stephenson Prize is the principal prize of the Microbiology Society, awarded for an outstanding contribution of current importance in microbiology. Marjory Stephenson was the second president of the Microbiology Society (1947 - 1949) a ...

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 Marjory Stephenson (24 January 1885 – 12 December 1948) was a British biochemist. In 1945, she was one of the first two women elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, the other being Kathleen Lonsdale. She wrote ''Bacterial Metabolism'' (193 ...

was the second president of the Society (1947–1949) and a distinguished pioneer of chemical microbiology. The

Fleming Prize Lecture The Fleming Prize Lecture was started by the Microbiology Society in 1976 and named after Alexander Fleming, one of the founders of the society. It is for early career researchers, generally within 12 of being awarded their PhD, who have an outs ...

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 Sir Alexander Fleming (6 August 1881 – 11 March 1955) was a Scottish physician and microbiologist, best known for discovering the world's first broadly effective antibiotic substance, which he named penicillin. His discovery in 1928 of what ...

was the first President of the Society (1945–1947) and received a

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfre ...

for his discovery of penicillin. The

Sir Howard Dalton Young Microbiologist of the Year Competition ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

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 Sir Howard Dalton, FRS (8 February 1944 – 12 January 2008) was a British microbiologist. He served as the Chief Scientific Advisor to the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) from March 2002 to September 2007. Educ ...

. The Peter Wildy Prize Lecture is awarded annually for contribution to microbiology education or communication. It is named after

Peter Wildy Norman Peter Leete Wildy (31 March 1920 – 10 March 1987) was a 20th-century British virologist who was an expert on the herpes simplex virus. Education and personal life He was born in Tunbridge Wells in Kent on 31 March 1920 the son of Eric ...

, a virologist and was established in 2001. The Microbiology Outreach Prize was established in 2009.

Presidents

Source
Microbiology Society

References

External links

*
Microbiology Society - education website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Microbiology Society 1945 establishments in the United Kingdom British biology societies Learned societies of the United Kingdom Microbiology organizations Organisations based in the London Borough of Camden Science and technology in London Scientific organizations established in 1945