MARCH 2012
A F F I L I AT E S L E T T E R The official newsletter for FEMS Affiliates
Also in this issue:
European Commission Chief Scientific present & future, cost of infectious Advisor Prof. Anne Glover will join the diseases, microbe-hunters group of scientists that will discuss • Future: Emerging diseases, the impact of microbiology in bioterrorism, biodefense and new Brussels, Belgium on 25 April 2012. weapons, shaping the future
Publications corner: • FEMS Publications Board encourages future authors to submit to the FEMS Journals and help science • Journal highlights from FEMS Yeast Research
Prof. Glover is the first Chief Scientific Advisor of the European Commission. She was Chief Scientific Advisor of Scotland before she was appointed by the European Commission in December last year (2011).
Grants page: • Deadline for FEMS National/Regional Grants is June 1 • Checklist for FEMS National/Regional Grants
The meeting, bearing the same title as its topic (“Impact of Microbiology”) is hosted by the European Microbiology Forum, an initiative of the Federation of European Microbiological Societies for communication, interaction and promotion of microbiology.
Announcements: • DebioPharm Group Life Sciences Award 2012 • Author Call for Encyclopedia of Food Safety Initiatives News: • Why you should register to Coinfections 2012 • Deadlines for Coinfections 2012 Grants deadlines List of FEMS-sponsored meetings in April and May
It focuses on the 6 F’s of microbiology: Food, Feed, Fuel, Fiber, Fever and Future. • Food: Genetically modified organisms, functional foods, brewing • Feed: Probiotics, animal food • Fuel: Biofuel, biodegradation, bioremediation, microbial cell factory, ecology, micro-fuel / renewable energy • Fiber: New materials, biofiber, biopolymers • Fever: Early diagnostics, vaccines, new drugs: next-generation antibiotics, antimicrobials–past,
Microbiology tidbits www.fems-microbiology.org
Some of these F’s will be addressed in this meeting. The meeting will also feature talks by EMF Chairman Dr Cesar Nombela and Dr Ron Fouchier. Dr Fouchier is the Virologist from Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, The Netherlands who discovered how the H5N1 virus can spread by air. He is also one of our main interviewees in the latest issue of the FEMS Focus to be published in April. “Impact of Microbiology” will be held at the CSIC building in Brussels, Belgium from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. If you wish to join, send us an email at emf@fems-microbiology.org or click the image below for more information.
GUEST SPEAKER Prof. Anne Glover
Chief Scientific Adviso r European Comm ission
Location: 62, Rue du Trône 1050 BRUXELLES
SPEAKERS Dr Cesar Nombela,
Chairman European Microb iology
Forum
Dr Ron Fouchier
Virologist Erasmus MC Rotterd am
This symposium is
MEETING DETAILS Date: April 25, 2012 Time: 1100-1300h rs
Location website: http://d-bruselas. csic.e
s/inicio
sponsored by:
www.europeanmicro biologyfor The European Micr obiology Forum is
an initiative of
um.org
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JO U R N A L H IG H L IG H T
The results of the current study lead to quite different results, fully supporting the hypertrophy hypothesis. The hypertrophy hypothesis seems to explain the phenomenon of replicative aging of yeast much better than the hypothesis of the senescence factor accumulation. Bilinski et al., FEMS Yeast Res 12 (2012) 97–101
This paper was highly commented on, check the following links for comments from our journal readers: • Hypertrophy and senescence factors in yeast aging. A reply to Bilinski et al. Matt Kaeberlein DOI: 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2012.00798.x • Yeast hypertrophy: cause or consequence of aging? Reply to Bilinski et al. Austen R. D. Ganley, Michael Breitenbach, Brian K. Kennedy and Takehiko Kobayashi DOI: 10.1111/j.1567-1364.2012.00796.x
Due to the increasing number of fungal infections, along with rising morbidity and mortality rates, especially among the immunocompromised, understanding the diversity and distribution of yeasts in natural environments close to human habitations has become increasingly relevant. In this study, researchers analyzed 1110 samples obtained from the hollows of trees, shrubs and avian droppings at 8 geographical sites in and around Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Eighty-eight positive yeast strains were isolated and identified belonging to 20 yeast species. Despite the relative proximity ia d of the sampling sites and the availability of vectors (e.g. birds, : Wikipe o Credit t o h rodents and humans) to shuttle these yeasts between the areas, P / Tree Hollow the yeast populations were highly heterogenous. Among the 14 tree species sampled, cedar, cottonwood and basswood hollows had relatively high yeast colonization rates. Interestingly, Candida parapsilosis was isolated almost exclusively from Pine trees only. These results are consistent with microgeographic and ecological differentiation of yeast species in and around an urban environment. Maganti et al. FEMS Yeast Res 12 (2012) 9–1
COINFECTIONS 2012
7-8 June 2012 | Halle, Germany German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina P U B L I C AT I O N S PA G E
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Here at the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, supporting science is one of our main objectives. Our five journals -- FEMS Microbiology Ecology, FEMS Microbiology Letters, FEMS Immunology and Medical Microbiology, FEMS Microbiology Reviews and FEMS Yeast Research -- make this intention possible.
PAY IT FORWARD This pay-it-forward idea was expanded at the recent FEMS Publications and Editorial Board meetings which were held this year at the FEMS Central Office in Delft.
The last Publications and Editorial Board Meetings were held in March 2012
At these meetings, Publications Manager James Prosser, all Chief Editors and Spanish Delegate Dr Ricardo Guerrero (FEMS Delegate Representative) got together with the Publications Office staff and representatives of Wiley Blackwell, the publisher of the FEMS Journals. Publishing your work in the FEMS journals is FREE, plus the income generated from subscriptions finances promoting microbiology in Europe.
at the FEMS Central Office in Delft, The Netherlands / Photo Credit: FEMS
your research is published in the prestigious FEMS journals, you are helping to promote microbiology with support for Grants, Fellowships and Meetings. Will you still think twice as to where you should publish your next paper? SUBMIT NOW.
FEMS activities include sponsorships for: • Grants • Fellowships • Microbiology meetings
SUBMIT TO THE FEMS JOURNALS To promote and support microbiology in Europe, we encourage scientists to submit their papers to the FEMS Journals. Readership to the FEMS Journals continues to increase. So it is really a win-win solution. While
SUBMIT to the FEMS journals. Read. Write. Cite.
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7-8 June 2012 | Halle, Germany German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
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P U B L I C AT I O N S PA G E
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Debiopharm Group Life Sciences Award 2012 The President of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne EPFL, the Dean of the EPFL School of Life Sciences, and the Executive Board of Debiopharm Group™ are pleased to invite applications for this year’s Debiopharm Group™ Life Sciences Award. The Sponsor, Debiopharm Group™, is a Swiss biopharmaceutical company with a focus on the development of innovative therapies that target unmet medical needs. In 2012, the award will be given to investigators in the field of INFECTIOUS DISEASES & IMMUNOLOGY. The prize will honor a European investigator below the age of 45 who has made outstanding contributions in the area of basic or clinical research in infectious diseases. It consists of a total of 50‘000 CHF, of which one fifth is a personal award, while the rest will contribute to support the awardee’s research at her/his home institution. The award will be handed over on the occasion of the Annual EPFL Life Science Symposium “Global Health meets Infection Biology” to be held 29-31 August 2012 (for more information please visit http://lss2012.epfl.ch/). Candidates are invited to submit their applications no later than 1 May 2012. A Jury of internationally renowned scientific experts will evaluate the applications. The dossier should be comprised of: - a one-page endorsement letter by the home institute describing the importance of the nominee’s contribution to this field - her/his curriculum vitae, - her/his list of publications, - a two-page outline describing the nature and the importance of her/his previous work, and of the plans for the future All dossiers are to be sent, exclusively in electronic format and in the form of one single “pdf” file, to: harald.hirling@epfl.ch
COINFECTIONS 2012
7-8 June 2012 | Halle, Germany German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina ANNOUNCEMENTS
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AUTHOR CALL: Encyclopedia of Food Safety Elsevier is pleased to announce the development of the Encyclopedia of Food Safety, a forthcoming Major Reference Work edited by Drs. Yasmine Motarjemi, Gerry Moy and Ewen Todd. The editorial board and the authors are committed to producing something that will become the fundamental text of Food Safety, and arguably be the model for how Food Safety reference works are produced in the future. With over 350 chapters covering a breadth of Food Safety topics, this is an audacious undertaking and also very exciting. In this regard, we are in the process of inviting authors to contribute according to their area of specialism/ knowledge. There are a number of microbiology-related chapters requiring authors. If there is one (or more) topics that you would be interested in writing, please let us know. Alternatively, if you can suggest a colleague or fellow professional that you think would make a suitable candidate to author one of the remaining chapters, we would very much appreciate hearing from you. Available chapters 167. Avian influenza virus 168. Swine influenza virus 85. Arizona hinshawii 90. Citrbobacter 99. Francisella tularensis 100. Helicobacter pylori 103. Mycobacterium bovis
106. Pasteurella multocida 109. Pseudomonas 110. Pseudomonas cocovenenans 111. Burkholderia cocovenenans 114. Shigella species 116. Streptococcus species
Elsevier and the Editorial Board look forward to hearing from you, and creating the academic source authority for Food Safety. Best wishes, Jason Mitchell, Senior Development Editor Elsevier, Oxford, UK Email: MRW-FOSA@elsevier.com
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FEMS NATIONAL/REGIONAL GRANTS DESCRIPTION
FEMS NATIONAL/REGIONAL GRANTS GRANT APPLICATION CHECKLIST
Since 2011, FEMS has been providing its Member Societies start-up grants to support National or Regional Microbiological Congresses.
FEMS National and Regional Congresses Grants regulations apply to each application for the FEMS National and Regional Congresses Grants, the requirements consist of, but are not limited to, the following:
This is to provide support to FEMS Member Societies organising National/Regional Congresses. FEMS finds these meetings very important to have microbiologists meet under the wings of their local society. Start-up grants can be used by the organizers in any respect that supports successful organization of the meetings. Annual budget for these grants is 30.000 EUR. Minimum of Start-up grant is 1.000 EUR and maximum is 3.000 EUR. The grant amount depends on the number of society members and expected participants at the congress. The regulations and application forms are available electronically. Please read them carefully and check the list at the right before contacting the FEMS Central Office. Upon its receipt at FEMS Central Office, the application is checked for eligibility and completeness. Complete applications are then submitted to the Grants Board. Grants Board formulates its recommendations to the Executive Committee, which then makes the final decision that will be communicated soon thereafter.
✓ You are a FEMS Member Society organising a national or regional society meeting ✓ Your meeting will be held between July 1 and December 30, 2012 (for meetings between January 1 and June 30, the deadline is December 15) ✓ You have read the regulations governing FEMS National/Regional Congresses Start-up grants ✓ Completed relevant application form available on the FEMS website ✓ General and budgetary information ✓ Full programme ✓ List of speakers ✓ Endorsement by the FEMS Delegate of the host FEMS Member Society ✓ You have indicated how you intend to use/ spend this grant ✓ Send the complete application to grants@ fems-microbiology.org before the deadline of June 1, 2012
The DEADLINE for FEMS National/Regional
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Grants is June 1, 2012
7-8 June 2012 | Halle, Germany German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
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G R AN T S CO R N ER
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PRELIMINARY PROGRAMME Thursday, June 7, 2012
Friday, June 8, 2012
13:00-14:00
Session 4 (cont.): Virus-bacterial interactions: Viral modulation of the immune response to bacteria 09:00-09:30 Influenza and bacterial superinfection
Lunch
Session 1: Microbial communities I: Complex microbial communities and gene and signal exchanges 14:00-14.30 Emerging virus infections in a changing world
Jon McCullers, USA
09:30-10:00
Albert Osterhaus, The Netherlands
14:30-15:00
Immunological consequences of helminth-malaria Coinfections Hermelijn Smits, The Netherlands
Impact of biofilms in Coinfections
10:00-10:30
Søren Molin, Denmark
Coffee break
Session 2: Bacterial/viral symbionts of bacteria: Coinfections with parasites 15:00-15:30 Leishmania RNA virus and Leishmania
Session 5: Microbial communities II: Microbiota in infections and Susceptibility to infection 10:30-11:00 How gut bacteria enhance enteric virus infectivity Julie Pfeiffer, USA
15:30- 16:00 Onchocerca volvulus and the Wolbachia endosymbiont unleashes the immune response eliciting clinical onchocerchiasis Achim Hoerauf, Germany
11:30-12:00
Nicolas Fasel, Switzerland
Diversity and activity of free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria and total bacteria in soils Stephen Cummings, UK
16:00- 16:30 Coffee break Session 3: Significance of Coinfections: Epidemiology 16:30-17:00 Mixed lower respiratory tract infections Birgitta Henriques-Normark, Sweden Session 4: Virus-bacterial interactions: Viral modulation of the immune response to bacteria 17:00-17:30 HIV-1 and the immune response to tuberculosis Robert J. Wilkinson, UK
COINFECTIONS 2012 17:30-19:00 Poster sessions
7-8 June 2012 | Halle, Germany 19:30 Dinner German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina S O C I E T Y F E AT U R E
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The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina is home to Coinfections 2012 on June 7-8, 2012 in Halle, Germany Photo Credit: Leopoldina
If you have not registered to participate in Coinfections 2012, the time is now. To help you remember, here are the deadlines: DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS: May 10, 2012 DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: May 21, 2012 But why do you have to register? Here are some reasons: • Coinfections 2012 is a unique event that highlights recent advances in our understanding of polymicrobial infections, synergies between microbes and relevant aspects of symbiosis • top scientists at the international forefront will give presentations and contribute to the discussions • it will be held at the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, in Halle, Germany, an academy of scientific significance • Halle, Germany is a nice student city that can easily be reached through several airports or train stations
When it comes to accommodation, the hosts -European Academy of Microbiology and German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina -- have contacted chosen hotels in which participants can book their stay. Ready to register? Complete the registration form and send it to eam@fems-microbiology.org. Registration fee costs 100 EUR and includes: • • • • •
admission to scientific sessions and poster area programme and book of abstracts coffee breaks lunch and dinner on Thursday lunch on Friday
Your registration will only be complete upon the receipt of the registration fee and when confirmed by FEMS. Please remit the amount to FEMS with the following details: Account number: 56.89.48.289 Bank details: ABN AMRO, Postbus 300, 2600 AH Delft, with reference “Coinfections2012” BIC: ABNANL2A IBAN: NL35 ABNA 0568 9482 89
COINFECTIONS 2012
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I N I T I AT I V E S N E W S
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DEADLINES 1 June 2012 15 December 2012 FEMS National & Regional Congresses Grants 15 June 2012 1 December 2012 FEMS Research Fellowships FEMS Visiting Scientist Grants
1 March 2013 FEMS Meeting Grants (for meetings to be held in 2014)
FEMS-Sponsored Meetings, April - May 2012
2012 Apr 15 -
3rd Workshop on Microbial Sulfur Metabolism, The Netherlands 2012 Apr 16 -
5th European Spores Conference, United Kingdom 2012 Apr 22 -
8th Int’l Conference: Contaminants in Freezing Ground (CFG8), Austria
2012 May 10 -
Microbial Stress Responses: from Molecules to Systems, Italy
The FEMS Affiliates Letter is a production of FEMS Central Office
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MICROBIOLOGY TIDBITS
Source: American Society for Microbiology
1 October 2012 FEMS Advanced Fellowships
Environmental Microbiology and Biotechnology in the Frame of the Knowledge-Based Economy, Italy
M A R C H
The Black Queen Hypothesis: Basis of a New Evolutionary Theory Microorganisms can sometimes lose the ability to perform a function that appears to be necessary for their survival, and yet they still somehow manage to endure and multiply. How can this be? The authors of an opinion piece appearing in mBio®, on March 27 explain their ideas about the matter. They say microbes that shed necessary functions are getting others to do the hard work for them, an adaptation that can encourage microorganisms to live in cooperative communities.
1 April 2012 1 September 2012 FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants
2012 Apr 10 -
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Inner Weapons Against Allergies: Gut Bacteria Control Allergic Diseases, Study Suggests Every human being carries over 100 trillion individual bacterial cells within the intestine -- ten times more cells than comprise the body itself. Now, scientists from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, and collaborators from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and institutions in Japan and Germany, have found that these commensal bacteria might play an important role in influencing and controlling allergic inflammation. Source: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
A 24-Karat Gold Key to Unlock the Immune System Developing a drug or vaccine requires a delicate balancing act with the immune system. On one hand, medications need to escape detection by the immune system in order to perform their function. But vaccinations -- de-activated versions of a disease or virus -- need to do the reverse. They prompt the immune system to create protective antibodies. But scientists are still stumped by how the immune system recognizes different particles, and how it chooses whether or not to react against them. Source: American Friends of Tel Aviv University
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