Jahresbericht 2018 für

SGM/SSM/SSM: Schweizerische Gesellschaft für Mikrobiologie


Präsident/Präsidentin: Prof. Gilbert Greub

Von: Pilar Junier, pilar.junier@unine.ch

Résumé


The main points to highlight in 2018 are:

1. The annual assembly of the society in Lausanne. This assembly followed the format 1+2 days, with the first day dedicated to satellite activities organised by the different sections of the society and sponsored by the SCNAT.

2. The active participation of the SSM committee members to the project on antibiotic resistance StAR led by the confederation.

3. The participation of the medical microbiology section in the discussions concerning the revision of the cost of microbiological analysis in Switzerland. 

4. The active role of the society on Lay Communication. 



Publications


The report of the annual meeting was published by the President Prof. G. Greub in the journal Pipette:

https://www.sulm.ch/pipette_magazin/files/pipette/2018-06/pipette_6-2018-021_G-Greub_congres-annuel-de-la-societe-suisse-de-microbiologie-2018.pdf



Conférences, cours


The SSM annual meeting and the SCNAT satellite symposia held in Lausanne in late August 2018 was a large success and a platform for scientific exchange (see the report published in the Journal Pipettes indicatd in publications).

The SSM also contributed to the third ICCMg (18-19 October 2018). This meeting was a success with more than 150 participants from >20 countries, confirming the sustained attractivity of clinical metagenomics. The program and most of the presentations given during the last ICCMg can be found at www.clinicalmetagenomics.org.  



Activités internationales


The SSM is affiliated to the European Society for Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), where our society is active by proposing dedicated sessions at the annual meeting (Madrid, 2018). Our society is also represented in the Journal of ESCMID "Clinical Microbiology and Infection" where Profs L. Kaiser & G. Greub are both associate Editors. 

The SSM is also affiliated to the SULM (union of laboratory medicine). A member of the SSM committee is a member of the Editorial board of the Journal of the SULM (Pipettes). In addition, SSM helds a joint meeting with SULM approx. every 6 years; the last meeting took place in Bern in 2016.

SSM is a member of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies (FEMS) and Prof. C. Holliger participated in the Council meeting in Warsaw in 7-8 September 2018.



Encouragement de la relève


Despite the fact that the SSM offers travelling awards, none was requested for 2018. 



Activités de coordination et d'informations visant à renforcer la science


Active participation of SSM committee members (G. Greub, P. Junier, J. Schrenzel) to the national strategy on Antibiotic Resistance (StAR project, https://www.star.admin.ch/star/en/home.html). Prof. J. Schrenzel is directly involved in the core-team of the project.



Dialogue avec la société


In 2016 the SSM created a Lay communication section. Its mission is to engage with the broad public by opening discussion forums, inform policy-makers and leading national initiatives for science communication in microbiology. The SSM relies on the direct communication between microbiology researchers and society to foster amazement and interest for the microbial world.

During the last SSM congress in Lausanne (2018), a session dedicated to lay communication was organized. The invited keynote speaker, Professor V. Cid (Spain) presented the concept of the Small World initiative - Spain. This project enables the general public to become involved in the research of new antimicrobial molecules. This initiative has been taken up by Prof. P. Junier whom will establish a pioneering initiative for the Tiny Earth initiative (a spin-off project of the Small World Initiative) in Neuchatel. Prof. G. Greub presented the Krobs game, an interactive game to understand the biology of major pathogens and highlighting prevention methods. Dr. M. Tonolla presented a didactic path, set up in the Piora Valley (Ticino), allowing everyone to experience microbes in their natural environment using their naked eye.

Importantly, for the first time in a SSM congress, a competition: My thesis in 3 minutes was organized. In this contest, 5 PhD candidates had the opportunity to present their work to the public in 180 seconds in front of an enthusiastic audience.