Environmental Microbiology

Environmental Microbiology

SME 2019 – 7th Swiss Microbial Ecology Meeting Report

30 January -1 February 2019 at Aquatic Conference Center, Lausanne, Switzerland

An initiative of the SGM-SSM, the Swiss Microbial Ecology meetings are regular gatherings of the Swiss Microbial Ecology community. The meetings bring together senior scientist and early career researchers working in Switzerland. We focus on giving young researchers in this field an opportunity to present their work, discuss it with colleagues, and to extend their network among the Swiss Microbial Ecologists and beyond. It is a key event to foster contacts between the different groups that are active in this field in Switzerland. Invited speakers provide in-depth looks at cutting edge research projects and bring new ideas and different perspectives to each meeting.

The seventh edition, enabled by generous contributions of EPFL, ISME, SCNAT, SGM-SSM, and SNSF, took place end of January 2019 at the Aquatis Conference Center in Lausanne. The total number of attendants of SME 2019 was 102, including 9 invited speakers. We obtained a good gender balance (47% female) among participants and a good participation of PhD students (50%). Among the Swiss participants we had representatives of all language regions (D: 40; F: 47; I: 7) and 13 research institutions with in total 30 research groups.

The motto of SME 2019 was “the incredible diversity of microbial ecology research” which was well represented in the scientific program. It consisted of 9 invited keynote lectures and 29 contributed talks organized into 6 sessions. A total of 40 posters were presented in two poster sessions. The renowned invited speakers were Karsten Zengler, UC San Diego, USA; Nicole Dubilier, MPI Bremen, Germany; Alfons Stams, University of Wageningen, The Netherlands; Shinichi Sunagawa, ETH Zürich, Switzerland; Paul Hoskisson, University of Strathclyde, Great Britain; Tania Bosak, MIT Cambridge, USA; Frank Oliver Glöckner, MPI Bremen, Germany; Jean-Marc Ghigo, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France; Soren Molin, DTU Copenhagen, Denmark. A poster prize (sponsored through the ISME ambassador program) was awarded after review of the posters by a panel of three senior scientists. The prize for the winning Poster “Unveiling biofilm architectural differentiation in sedimentary environments” by David Scheidweiler, Hannes Peter, Pietro de Anna, and Tom Battin, was awarded at the conclusion of the conference.

The meeting provided a great overview at the vibrant microbial ecology research carried out in Switzerland, and a great opportunity to meet leading national and international scientists in a very personal setting. The scientific discussions were intense and social exchange at joint coffee breaks, meals, and drinks allowed to make new contacts and launch new collaborative research.

 

Impressions from SME 2019:

 

SME 2015 – 6th Swiss Microbial Ecology Meeting Report

10-12 of September, 2015 at Monte Verità, Ascona, Switzerland

An initiative of the SGM-SSM, the Swiss Microbial Ecology meetings are biannual gatherings of the Swiss Microbial Ecology community. The meetings bring together senior scientist and early career researchers working in Switzerland. We focus on giving young researchers in this field an opportunity to present their work, discuss it with colleagues, and to extend their network among the Swiss Microbial Ecologists and beyond. It is a key event to foster contacts between the different groups that are active in this field in Switzerland. Invited speakers, both national and international, provide in-depth looks at cutting edge research projects and bring new ideas and different perspectives to each meeting.


The sixth edition enabled by a generous contribution of SCNAT, SNSF, and ISME took place in September at Monte Verità, Ascona. The total number of attendants of SME 2015 was 81, including 6 invited speakers. We obtained a good gender balance (45.7% female) among participants and a good participation of PhD students (56%). Among the Swiss participants we had representatives of all language regions (D: 47; F: 28; I: 2) and 10 different research institutions. Most participants stayed at the Monte Verità conference hotel which also housed the lecture room and poster hall.


The scientific program consisted of 35 talks (invited and contributed) organized into 5 sessions and 31 posters were presented in two poster sessions. We were able to attract a set of renowned invited speakers: Julia Vorholt, ETH Zürich, Switzerland; Tom Curtis, Newcastle University, UK; Christian Kost, MPI Jena, Germany; Eberhard Morgenroth, ETH Zürich/Eawag, Switzerland; Dani Or, ETH Zürich, Switzerland; Kornelia Smalla, Julius Kühn-Institut Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Crops, Germany; and Roman Stocker, ETH Zürich. A poster prize (sponsored through the ISME ambassador program) was awarded after review of the posters by a panel. The prize for the winning Poster “Pore scale segregation of microbial populations under oxygen and nutrient gradients” by Benedict Borer, O. Ilie, R. Tecon and D. Or was awarded at the conclusion of the conference.
The meeting provided a great look at the vibrant microbial ecology research community in Switzerland, and a great opportunity to meet some leading national and international scientists in a very personal setting. The meeting provided ample opportunity for scientific discussions and social exchange at joint coffee breaks, meals, and drinks.

 

Impressions from SME 2015:

Environmental Microbiology

The environmental microbiology section is gathering people working with microorganisms and microbial communities of natural and engineered systems. Bacteria, archaea, and other microorganisms have a strong influence on, or even govern, the biogeochemical cycle of several major elements such as carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous and sulfur.

Modern techniques in molecular biology and chemical analytics enable to study those microorganisms under natural or close-to-natural conditions and to understand their functioning and interactions. This section includes areas such as microbial biogeochemistry, geomicrobiology, microbial ecology, and biodegradation of environmental pollutants. With activities such as the Swiss Microbial Ecology meetings, the section aims to foster contacts between Swiss microbiologists interested in environmental microbiology, to promote scientific exchange and collaborations, to review and discuss recently developed tools and concepts, and to allow young scientists to work in a stimulating scientific environment.

Education

Engels Monika Zürich This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Fankhauser Hans Aarau This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jaton-Ogay Katia Lausanne This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Marti Hanspeter Basel This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Müller Franco Zürich This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Zbinden Reinhard Zürich This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More Articles ...

  1. Members

Join our Newsletter