On Saturday September 20th, the Young Belgian Society for Microbiology is celebrating the fourth Belgian edition of “International Microorganism Day”! On this day, microbiologists from all over the world commemorate the discovery of microbes by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1676.

For this occasion, we are organizing an exciting event at the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels. This event will contain lots of microbiology, fun facts and hands-on activities for the public. The previous editions of this event were a huge success, with more than 3000 participants in total.

To help us host this event, we are looking for volunteers. Are you a microbiologist interested in science outreach? Can you enthusiastically explain microbiology to children and the general public? Do you like agar art, microscopy, kombucha, …? Are you available on Saturday September 20th? Then we would love to have you at International Microorganism Day 2025!

You can register as a volunteer here: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/NbpmNwTrrh. We will be in touch!

FYI, for PhD students, all volunteers will get an official certificate of participation that might be recognized by your doctoral school and could count for your doctoral training. Get in touch with your doctoral school or your accompanying committee to check if this is the case.

For any additional information, don’t hesitate to contact us!

Best wishes,
YBSM

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the discovery of bacteriocins by the Belgian researcher André Gratia, this meeting will address the global health challenge of antimicrobial resistance with a focus on Advancing Solutions to AntiMicrobial Resistance (AS2AMR) and will be jointly organized with the 2nd Bacteriocin International Conference (BIC2025). The event will take place from May 25 to 28, 2025, at the Palace of the Academies in Brussels, Belgium. The growing threat of AMR demands urgent attention! This 3.5-day conference is designed to bring together leading scientists, policymakers, and innovators to tackle AMR from a One Health perspective — connecting human and animal health, agriculture, environment, and food safety.
More info and registration: https://as2amr.be/.

The 24th Heremans Lecture will take place on Monday, February 24th at 5:30 PM, in the auditorium A (Lacroix) on the UCLouvain Health Sciences campus in Brussels. The lecture will be given by Professor Diane MATHIS, who will enlighten us on the molecular and cellular basis of T-cell tolerance. For security and organisational reasons, registration before February 14th is mandatory, through the registration page.