We have the pleasure to announce the next South African Society of Microbiology (SASM) conference will be held at the University of the Free State in early October 2020.

Do not miss this opportunity to present your current research!

Minimum requirements: 

• PhD (NQF Level 10) in Molecular Microbiology and Bioinformatics (or closely related field)
• NRF rating (for Associate professor)

Lecturer/Senior Lecturer (Fixed-term appointment for 5 years) - Department of Microbial Biochemical and Food Biotechnology

UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND, JOHANNESBURG

FACULTY OF SCIENCE

SCHOOL OF MOLECULAR & CELL BIOLOGY

SENIOR LECTURER/ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR IN MICROBIOLOGY

Call for Applications for DAAD ‘in Country’ PhD Scholarships to study Biochemistry/Microbiology at Rhodes University

DAAD is offering three-year PhD scholarships for full-time study towards the PhD degree in Biochemistry and Microbiology at Rhodes University starting February 2019. The programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). A maximum of 5 scholarships are available for admission in 2019. The scholarships cover costs associated with the degree and include a monthly stipend of 500 Euro.

Eligibility:

• Citizens of a sub-Saharan country (excluding South Africa);
• MSc degree (or equivalent) in Biochemistry, Microbiology, Biotechnology or a related science completed not more than 6 years ago;
• Good working knowledge of English;
• Strong motivation and commitment.

Applications:

Please submit the following documentation as a single PDF file

1. Letter of motivation (explaining your interest in Biochemistry/Microbiology and why you wish to do a PhD. Maximum 1 page);
2. CV using the template found here: https://europass.cedefop.europa.eu/editors/en/cv/compose
3. Certified copy of academic transcript/degree certificates;
4. Reference letters from 2 academic references;
5. Passport/ID as proof of citizenship.

Please email the above documents as a single PDF file to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 17:00 on Tuesday 31^st July. Please name the file ‘DAAD-Your name’.

Female applicants and applicants from less privileged backgrounds are encouraged to participate in the programme

Queries may be addressed to Prof Adrienne Edkins on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Shortlisted candidates will be notified by email with further instructions. If you do not hear from us by 31 August 2018, you should assume that your application was not successful.

To combine PDF documents – see this website https://smallpdf.com/merge-pdf

Part 1: Pathway engineering
It is now accepted that fossil fuel reserves, the main source for liquid petroleum, will eventually be depleted. It is also established that the use of fossil fuels has a negative impact on the environment, contributing to global warming, through re-introduction of trapped carbon, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Thus an alternative source for liquid fuels needs to be found and one of the proposed alternatives is biofuels. Biofuels refers to technologies that employ living organisms, mostly yeast, algae or bacteria, to convert biomass to liquid fuels. Apart from the environmental benefits which come with biofuels, they may also contribute to the enhancement of energy security in countries which don’t have access to fossil fuel deposits, and offer a more profitable use of crops other than as a food source.

The UK Society for General Microbiology has established a new online journal, Microbial Genomics (MGen), a fully open access, online-only, and mandatory open data journal.

Below is a list of microbiology conferences for 2016 to take note off. If you are aware of any other microbiology-related conferences, let us know!

Stay up to speed with microbiology research in South Africa. Visit us on Facebook, Twitter (with the #SASMNews twitter handle), or Google+. SASM aims is to create a space where microbiologists from diverse fields all over South Africa can get involved in sharing news, discussions, knowledge-sharing to increase general awareness of microbiology in South Africa. 

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