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w w w . f e m s - m i c r o b i o l o g y . o r g
T h e o f f i c i a l n e w s l e t t e r f o r F E M S A f f i l i a t e s
A L S O I N
T H I S I S S U E :
F E M S S e c . G e n .
P r o f . T o n e
T øn j u m o n
T r a n s l a t i o n a l
R e s e a r c h
F E M S a t t h e
N V v M
C e n t e n a r y
P a r t i a l l i s t o f
2 0 1 1 F E M S -
s p o n s o r e d
m e e t i n g s
D e a d l i n e s f o r
F E M S G r a n t s
F E M S 2 0 1 1
u p d a t e
N E W i s s u e
o f t h e F E M S
F o c u s , n o w
a v a i l a b l e !
A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R
A p r i l 2 0 1 1
The ultimate reference book on yeasts was pre-
sented to the Royal Dutch Academy of Sciences
on Wednesday, April 20, 2011.
“The Yeasts, a Taxonomic Study” was made
possible through the hand of former FEMS
Yeast Research Chief Editor Dr Teun Boekhout,
American microbiologists Drs Cletus Kurtzman
and Jack Fell and 76 other authors. Dr Boek-
hout calls it an international project. “22 coun-
tries, 76 authors from those countries, so this
is like, you can say, maybe like a wiki project. A
lot of volunteers worked on these chapters and
in the end of course, made the book what it is,”
he beams.
This is the 5th edition of the book that was first
published in 1952. It contains 60 years of
Yeast history and the most extensive reference
for yeasts by
far. In fact, it is
so thorough
that it could
not fit in one
book so they
made three
books out of it.
“The first book
is an introduc-
tion with about
10 chapters on
various aspects
of yeasts like ecology and cell biology and
whatever. The second part is on the ascomy-
cetes yeasts like that saccharomyces and the
candidas. And the third volume is one the
basidiomycetes yeasts, let’s say Cryptococcus ,
and things like that”, Dr Boekhout explains.
The book is a reference to about 1500 yeasts,
double the number in the last edition published
in 1998. With the amount of new species dis-
covered by the
day, the group
will not wait an-
other 10 years to
publish the next
one.
“If we wait an-
other 10 years, it
will be out of
control. It will be
so huge that it
can’t be done. So
now we’re think-
ing about something like a wiki, continuing
this wiki approach by asking people to work on
the different parts of the yeast domain and
then update regularly,” says Dr Boekhout.
The book is also
available as an e-
book which will
be updated every
now and then. Dr
Boekhout expects
that the updated
printed version
will be published
in the next 5 to 6
years. “People
can buy either
the whole e-book
or individual
chapters. Also, the e-book allows us to update
more regularly because print is very expensive
but PDF is not so expensive. And that is the
way we go,” he explains.
The group is also working on a website to allow
for easy communication among microbiolo-
gists interested to join in the project and quick
updating of the species. But as to when this
will be available is yet to be known.
B i g g e s t r e f e r e n c e b o o k o n Y e a s t s p u b l i s h e d
Toasting to the biggest reference on yeasts. Dr Teun Boekhout is
joined by co-editors Drs Jack Fell (left) and Cletus Kurtzman (right).
The 5th Edition of “The
Yeasts, a Taxonomic Study”
is the most extensive by far.
w w w . f e m s - m i c r o b i o l o g y . o r g
Page 2 A F F I L I A T E S L E T T E R
Join us at the 4th
FEMS Congress in
Geneva, Switzerland
June 26-30, 2011
J u n e 1 , d e a d l i n e f o r n e w F E M S G r a n t s
Just as we reported to you last
month, FEMS attended and put up
a booth at the 100th Year Celebra-
tion of the Netherlands Society for
Microbiology. The event was held in
Papendal, The Netherlands from 18
-20 April, 2011.
Crown Prince HRH Willem Alexan-
der was the special guest. FEMS
General Manager Mrs Barbara Dar-
tee managed to meet him at the
corridor wherein she handed out
some FEMS products specially pre-
pared for the prince and his three
little girls.
Aside from the prince, the NVvM Centenary
was also graced by four other big names in the
scientific world, such as: Nobel Prize Awardees
in Physiology or Medicine Drs Barry Marshall
(2005), Harald zur Hausen (2008) and Sir
Paul Nurse (2001). Dr Craig Venter also gave a
speech on the reading and writing of the ge-
netic code. “Life is a DNA software”, he said.
“You change the software, you change the spe-
cies”, he added.
FEMS Focus was able to interview two of the
Nobel Prize Awardees present in the scene,
namely: Drs Harald zur Hausen and Sir Paul
Nurse. Their interviews will be the topic in the
next FEMS Focus issues.
Start-up Grants Fast Facts
Organizers of National or Regional
Microbiological Congresses with 50-
500+ participants may apply
Organizers must have their forms
endorsed by the local FEMS Delegate
Planned congresses must not overlap
with a FEMS Congress
Organizers should provide general
and budgetary information with a full
programme
Interested applicants are encouraged to read
the Grants Regulations before contacting the
FEMS Grants Administrator.
Application documents are also made available
online.
Starting this year, FEMS will provide start-up
grants to support National or Regional Micro-
biological Congresses. The annual budget for
these grants is 30.000 EUR.
The Start-Up Grants support successful organi-
zation of meetings and can be used by the or-
ganizers of said meetings in any respect.
The minimum amount of a Start-up grant is
1.000 EUR and the maximum is 3.000 EUR.
This amount depends on the number of the
society members and expected participants at
the congress:
50 to 200 participants; 1.000 Euros.
200 to 500 participants; 2.000 Euros.
500 participants or more; 3.000 Euros.
The deadlines for these grants are June 1
(for meetings occurring between July 1 and
December 30) and December 15 (for meet-
ings between January 1 and June 30).
R u b b i n g e l b o w s w i t h r o y a l t y a t t h e N V v M C e n t e n a r y
FEMS General Manager Mrs Barbara Dartee
hands a couple of FEMS products to Crown
Prince HRH Willem Alexander during the
NVvM Centenary.
Members of the FEMS Executive Board were also
present during the NVvM Centenary. From left to
right: Sec. Gen. Tone Tønjum, Publications Manager
Fergus Priest, Grants Secretary Vaso Taleski, Mrs
Dartee and Vice President Jean Claude Piffaretti.
w w w . f e m s - m i c r o b i o l o g y . o r g
Page 3 A p r i l 2 0 1 1
T r a n s l a t i o n a l R e s e a r c h : n o t l o s t i n t r a n s l a t i o n
FEMS Secretary-General
Tone Tønjum talks about
Translational Research in
this issue of the FEMS Af-
filiates Letter.
What is Translational Re-
search (TR)?
Translational research (TR) is
multidisciplinary research aim-
ing at building bridges between
basic science and clinical medi-
cine. This shortens the dis-
tance between research and the
benefit of the patient. Thereby,
novel discoveries in medicine
can quickly come into practical
use.
Why is TR important, also
in microbiology and infec-
tious diseases?
Some examples worth men-
tioning can be designing / creating / constructing and testing
novel diagnostics, antibiotics and other antimicrobial agents, as
well as preventive measures such as vaccines and probiotics.
New directions in medicine move toward more personalized
medicine, requiring the delineation of both genetic and environ-
mental factors for a basis for validation.
Norway is one example where Translational Research
is well integrated into everyday human and animal
medical activities. Why can TR be implemented effi-
ciently in Norway? What are the particular attributes
facilitating TR in Norway?
In addition to TR being an integrated goal of the healthcare
strategic vision, addressing prime questions in current medi-
cine, this country has well-structured nationwide registries of
data, biobanks and knowledge transfer networks. These enable
the efficient flow of relevant information in addition to qualified
storage, handling and maintenance of biological materials in
biobanks.
Of course, these facilities can always become better and efforts
are dedicated to improving these assets. However, the current
situation is a good start for more TR and Norway is, for many
parties and networks, perceived as a good scenario for clinical
trials (e.g. testing drugs and diagnostics, etc.).
TR in a FEMS perspective: What are the challenges,
strengths and opportunities in Europe in a global per-
spective?
Europe has special demands for comprehensive TR programs
with its multicultural setting and increased migration and mo-
bility of man and microbes relevant for human and animal
medicine. To address these challenges, a collective effort is re-
quired.
The European Commission (EC) has, among other measures,
implemented the European Advance for Translational Research
in Science (EATRIS) which was initiated to develop a pan-
European action plan for networking, science and education in
TR.
Professor and chief physician
Tone Tønjum, MD PhD, is the
Director of Centre for Molecular
Biology and Neuroscience
(CMBN) with 200 scientists,
employees and students,
focusing on TR
The Rigaku X-ray Diffractometer is located wall-to-wall with the inten-
sive care unit. With its multidisciplinary nature, ample competence
and resources, CMBN represents a unique opportunity in addressing
important challenges in basic and translational research. In a time of
rapidly evolving scientific developments, CMBN has fuelled discover-
ies on genome instability and brain diseases including meningitis and
other CNS infections. Bacterial systems are exploited as causes of
major diseases as well as being relevant models for higher eukaryotic
systems, contributing to new developments in molecular medicine.
Through their activities and multidisciplinary nature, CMBN scientists
are bridging the gap between basic sciences and clinical medicine, as
an example of translational research well integrated into hospital
services.
w w w . f e m s - m i c r o b i o l o g y . o r g
T h e v o i c e o f m i c r o b i o l o g y i n E u r o p e . W e a d v a n c e a n d u n i f y m i c r o b i o l o g y k n o w l e d g e .
DEADLINES
Keverling Buismanweg 4, 2628 CL Delft, The Netherlands
T: +31-15-269-3920 / F: +31-15-269-3921 / E-mail: fems@fems-microbiology.org
June 1, 2011
December 15, 2011
FEMS National & Regional
Congresses Grants
June 15, 2011
December 1, 2011
FEMS Research Fellowships
FEMS Visiting Scientist Grants
October 1, 2011
FEMS Advanced Fellowships
September 1, 2011
April 1, 2012
FEMS Meeting Attendance Grants
March 1, 2012
FEMS Meeting Grants
Page 4
D A T E T I T L E O F M E E T I N G V E N U E
May 7 HFP2011: Molecular Mechanisms of
Host-Pathogen Interactions and Viru-
lence in Human Fungal Pathogens
France
May 11 7th European Workshop on Bacterial
Respiratory Chains: Biochemistry, Ge-
netics, Assembly and their Regulation
Sweden
May 14 13th International Cytomegalovirus/
BetaHerpesvirus Workshop
Germany
May 26 Fighting Infections: Challenges and
Recent Progress. A British-
Scandinavian Meeting in Microbiology
Norway
June 12 Multi-Drug Efflux Systems: From Mo-
lecular Mechanisms to Pharmacologi-
cal Modulation
Switzerland
June 15 7th ISAM: International Symposium of
Anaerobic Microbiology
Slovakia
July 17 Enzymes in the Environments: Activity,
Ecology and Applications
Germany
T h e F E M S A f f i l i a t e s L e t t e r
i s a p r o d u c t i o n
o f t h e F E M S C e n t r a l O f f i c e
F E M S - S P O N S O R E D M E E T I N G S
M a y - J u l y 2 0 1 1
The combined Online Subscription to ALL FEMS Journals costs only €185. Subscribe now.
4 t h F E M S C o n g r e s s U p d a t e
Have you signed up for the 4th Congress of Microbiolo-
gists? To be held in Geneva, Switzerland, this will include
many interesting events.
You will find the list of topics to be tackled at the con-
gress here. For a list of speakers, please click this link.
Here is the list of interesting symposia and workshops. If
you are looking for someone to share a room with, you
may follow FEMS 2011 on Facebook and join in the dis-
cussion.
For more information on the Scientific Program and Pre-
liminary Timetable, please click the links.