SASM2013 will take place from 24-27 November 2013 at Forever Resorts Warmbaths (http://www.foreverwarmbaths.co.za/). Please see our website www.sasm.org.za (CONGRESSES>SASM2013) for details, abstract submission and registration. The theme for SASM2013 is “From Africa to the World: Trending Microbiology”. The Organizing Committee wants to put together “trendy”, modern programme, yet taking into account the traditional tracks at our previous conferences: Environmental Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Industrial Microbiology, Virology, Medical Microbiology, Plant Microbiology, Food Microbiology, and Virology. In order to achieve this, we would like to involve all SASM members at South African Universities, Research Institutions and various Industries and Service providers.
The 18th Biennial Conference of the South African Society of Microbiology (SASM) will be held at Forever Resorts Warmbaths, Bela-Bela between 24 and 27 November 2013. “From Africa to the World: Trending Microbiology” is the motto of SASM 2013. Find out all about the SASM2013 conference on SASM's website.
Second Circular & Call for Abstracts: Functional Metagenomics - 2013
Written by Heinrich Volschenk.jpg)
The International Society for Functional Metagenomics is pleased to announce that a dedicated website is now open for registration and submission of abstracts for the international conference:
FUNCTIONAL METAGENOMICS - 2013
Pretoria, South Africa
Details and registration forms can be found on www.up.ac.za/functionalmetagenomics/2013
Microbiology Conferences/Workshops 2013
Written by Heinrich Volschenk
March 13 - 18, 2013 Tuberculosis: Understanding the Enemy
The International Society for Functional Metagenomics is pleased to announce the second conference on
FUNCTIONAL METAGENOMICS
to be held near Pretoria, South Africa in June 2013.
Dates: 2nd June 2013 to 5th June 2013
Program:
- Scheduled arrivals, Sunday 2nd June, am.
- Welcome and Plenary Lecture, evening of Sunday 2nd June
- Lecture Program; Monday 3rd - Wednesday 5th am.
- Departures: Wednesday 5th pm.
Travel: Most of the world’s major airlines have regular scheduled flights to Johannesburg’s modern O.R. Thambo International Airport.
Venue: Zebra Lodge, Limpopo is sited about 80km north of Johannesburg’s O.R. Thambo Airport in spectacular African thornveld.
The meeting will offer an all-inclusive package (airport transfers, registration fees, 3 night’s accommodation, all meals, gala dinner, internet, some beverages and a ‘Big 5’ game drive)
Scientific Content: This meeting aims to bring together the leading researchers in the field of ‘functional genomics’. The program will include the latest technical and theoretical developments in the fields of metatransciptomics and metagenomic gene discovery, with clinical, industrial, and environmental applications.
Other activities: For conference registrants wishing to arrive early or stay longer, we can provide contact details for the conference venue and travel agents who can assist with other tourist activities.
Organisation: The meeting will be hosted by the University of Pretoria and organised by a local organising committee chaired by Professor Don Cowan, Director of the Centre for Microbial Ecology and Genomics. For further information and expressions of interest, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
FunctGenSoc: For more information on the International Society for Functional Metagenomics, please contact Professor Trevor Charles (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
Registrations will open in February 2013
Symposium: Biorefinery for Food, Fuel and Materials 2013 (BFF2013)
Written by Heinrich VolschenkThe Biorefinery for Food, Fuel and Materials symposium, for a sustainable development of a Biobased Economy, will be held on 7-10 April 2013 in Wageningen, The Netherlands.
| Organised by: | Wageningen University, Wageningen UR Food & Biobased Research |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sun 7 April until Wed 10 April |
| Venue: | Hof van Wageningen, Wageningen, The Netherlands |
In the symposium on Biorefinery for Food, Fuel and Materials 2013 (BFF2013) the whole biorefinery value chain is considered, from where biomass cultivation is linked with biomass processing steps to the individual applications and recycling of resources to reduce the overall footprint. The symposium also unites stakeholders from agro, food, chemical, fuel and energy sectors with a common interest within the biorefinery chains.
Biobased chemicals, materials, biofuels and energy
Production of non-food components, such as chemicals, materials, biofuels and energy, from biomass is often considered to compete with food production with respect to land, water and scarce resources. Biorefinery is the key technology in the separation of the components of biomass for their own application. From this basis biorefinery offers the potential to use the biomass for both food and non-food production.
Biorefinery
Biorefineries advanced the use of biomass, but due to the oversupply of raw materials in our food chains in the past, there was no strong driver to improve the efficiency in using biomass. The increased request in food and non-food applications calls for a change in attitude in the interaction between food and non-food chains.
We invite you - researchers, industries and users - to forward the discussion on the development of biorefineries during the symposium on Biorefinery for Food, Fuel and Materials 2013 (BFF2013). The special challenge for the discussion is how food and non-food applications can further benefit from each other. Two times more products from biomass with two times less impact for the environment is the driver for this discussion.
Registration costs and provision
| Full fee | Student fee | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Before 1 March 2013: | 575 euro | 375 euro | |
| After 1 March 2013: | 675 euro | 475 euro | |
| Excursions: | 50 euro |
The registration fees include
- access to the conference
- delegates pack containing the abstracts book
- lunches and refreshments during the conference
- social program and the conference dinner
- use of board rooms for satellite meetings (only after consulting the secretariat)
Grant support is offered to a limited amount of PhD students for part of the conference fee. To apply for this, a letter of motivation can be send to the Secretariat (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.). PhD students that successfully apply for the grant pay a reduced symposium fee of 250 euros.
Accompanying persons are welcome. Please contact the Secretariat (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) to discuss possibilities.
Payment
Payment is only possible by Ideal or Credit Card on the registration site.
Cancellation Policy
Cancellations should be sent to the Secretariat only in a written form by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
| Until 1 March 2013: No cancellations fees will be applied |
| From 1 March - 1 April 2013: cancellation fees are 50% |
| After 1 April: No refund |
Organization
Biorefinery for Food, Fuel and Materials 2013 (BFF2013) is organised by Wageningen UR in cooperation with INRA, France.
| Johan Sanders | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Ton van Boxtel | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Marieke Bruins | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Ben Langelaan | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Michael O'Donohue | (INRA, France) |
| Hedy Wessels | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Rene Wijffels | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Johan Sanders | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Ton van Boxtel | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Marieke Bruins | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Michael O'Donohue | (INRA, France) |
| Atze-Jan van der Goot | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Anita Linnemann | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Rene van Ree | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| David Strik | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Hans Reith | (ECN, The Netherlands) |
| Michel Eppink | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Ludo Diels | (VITO, Belgium) |
| Axel Kraft | (Frauenhofer, Germany) |
| Connie Philips | (Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Canada) |
| Michael O'Donohue | (INRA, France) |
| Bruce Dale | (Michigan State University, United States) |
| Maria Barbosa | (Wageningen UR, The Netherlands) |
| Wim Soetaert | (Ghent University, Belgium) |
| Huug De Vries | (IATE/INRA, France) |
| Lilia Ahrné | (SIK, Sweden) |
| Jean Francois Jenck | (AlgoSource Technologies, France) |
Venue and Hotel
Hof van Wageningen
Lawickse Allee 9
6701 AN Wageningen
Hotel: Hof van Wageningen has 140 rooms in option for 'BFF2013' at the location of the symposium. When you are booking a room in this hotel, please mention 'BFF2013' with your booking. Reservations can only be made by e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The price per night for a single room is €75,- a double room is €92,50; including breakfast, tax not included.
Meetings that may be of interest to the yeast community are listed below:
20th Annual Southeastern Regional Yeast Meeting (SERYM)
University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham AL
March 8 - 10, 2013
British Yeast Group Meeting - BYG2013
Nottingham, UK
March 20 - 22, 2013
30th International Specialised Symposium on Yeast (ISSY)
Stara Lesna, Slovakia
June 18 - 22, 2013
YEAST 2013: 26th International Conference on Yeast Genetics and Molecular Biology
Frankfurt University, Frankfurt, Germany
August 29 - September 3, 2013
Yeast Genetics & Molecular Biology Meeting
University of Washington, Seattle WA
July 29 - August 3, 2014
More...
First International Conference of the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM)
Written by Heinrich Volschenk
Some 1500 laboratory professionals, clinicians, program managers, epidemiologists, researchers, students, and policy makers will convene in Cape Town, South Africa from December 1-7, 2012 for the First International Conference of the African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM).
The objective of this meeting is to convene healthcare professionals and policy makers from Africa and around the world to present and discuss the latest developments and initiatives for strengthening national laboratory health systems and networks, diagnostics, and their impact on healthcare delivery and disease surveillance.
Click here for the conference Program-at-a-Glance.
The conference will address a wide range of laboratory-related subject areas with particular emphasis on: translation of laboratory knowledge, practices, and technologies into clinical care; the interface of laboratory with medical science; laboratory-based epidemiology; and laboratory investigations and evidence-based effectiveness in real world settings.
Specifically, the conference will provide a forum for:
ASLM2012 will feature plenary sessions, oral and poster presentations, and symposia. The official languages of the meeting are English, French, and Portuguese and simultaneous translation will be available during the plenary sessions.
At the completion of this meeting, participants should be able to:
- Assess their individual efforts in light of the most current knowledge and information about laboratory medicine.
- Incorporate best practices emerging from laboratory, clinical, and epidemiological research and implementation science into their professional endeavours.
- Translate the latest laboratory and clinical evidence into making progress towards the advancement of professional laboratory medicine practice, science, systems, and networks in Africa.
Structural Biology for the Bioeconomy: Infectious Diseases and Biotechnology
Written by Heinrich Volschenk
A conference on “Structural Biology for the Bioeconomy: Infectious Diseases and Biotechnology” will be held at the University of Cape Town from 1 December to 2012 to 4 December 2012. The conference will immediately precede the annual conference of the Microscopy Society of Southern Africa (4-7 December 2012) and will be held in the same venue on the University of Cape Town campus. The conference website is http://www.sbbe.co.za and more about the organisers can be found here: http://www.sbbe.co.za/structural-biology-conference-organisers/
Some upcoming Microbiology-related conferences for 2013/2014.