Welcome to the Early Career Microbiologists’ (ECM) Forum update. I am Rebecca McHugh, a Postdoctoral Researcher from the University of Glasgow, UK, and ECM Impact and Influence Representative. Early Career Microbiologists’ Forum update: reuniting ECMs
T he previous quarter has been very busy for our early career members, with both Annual Conference 2022 (April) and our flagship ECM Summer Conference (July) taking place. I am sure our ECMs will agree that it has been fantastic to be reunited in our passion for all things microbial and to have a chance to finally meet the colleagues we have interacted with virtually over the past two years. During our Annual Conference, myself and our ECM Forum Executive Committee Chair, Colman O’Cathail, hosted our pre-conference networking event in the legendary Belfast venue, Grannie Annies. The event was subscribed to full capacity, but with Colman’s flight delayed, and the failure of our networking bingo cards to arrive, Society Staff were left to scramble together a new programme (and host!) at the last minute. Despite the obstacles, the event was a great success. Our Forum members were obviously very keen to network in person, which made the job of stand-in host easy for me. Colman’s flight managed to arrive in time for him to take the stage to conclude what was a superb event.
Annual Conference provided many opportunities for ECMs to present their work, and there were some excellent posters on display. The winner of our ECM Forum Poster Prize, Adriana Bizior, a PhD Student from the University of Strathclyde, UK, said “being at the Microbiology Society conference and receiving an ECM poster prize gave me a boost of motivation and energy in the last stages of my PhD. It is very easy to underestimate your own achievements and work – this prize helped me realise how much I have achieved and learnt in the past three years”. This year marked the return of the ECM Forum’s flagship event, the ECM Forum Summer Conference. A sunny Sheffield played host to over 100 delegates from across the branches of the Society. The meeting had an ‘antimicrobial resistance’ theme, and the organising committee put together a varied programme which included short talks and posters from ECMs. Ainsley Beaton from the John Innes Centre, who presented her talk, said ”the ECM Forum Summer Conference was a really refreshing meeting, with everyone being at a similar career stage, presenting gave lots of useful but friendly feedback. The theme of AMR gave a great focus but still included a real variety of angles on that topic so plenty of new ideas were being passed around”. David Mark from the University of Glasgow presented a poster and said “this was my first time at an ECM Forum conference, and it was a great experience. It’s lovely to be around other ECMs to chat about what we are working on”. Finally, on the behalf of the ECM Forum Executive Committee I would like to wish Maria Fernandes the best of luck as she leaves the Microbiology Society after eight years. Maria has been fundamental in the organisation and development of the ECM Forum and she will be sorely missed.
Colman O’Cathail speaking at the pre-conference networking event in the legendary Belfast venue, Grannie Annies.
Rebecca McHugh
ECM Representative for Impact and Influence Committee, ECM Forum Executive Committee
105 Microbiology Today October 2022 | microbiologysociety.org
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