What Have We Done for You Lately? The Role of the American Society for Microbiology in Advancing Clinical Microbiology
Introduction
The microbial sciences represent far more than what many consider to be covered by traditional microbiology. The new strategic vision of the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) recognizes that we are more expansive as a field and as a society than when we began over 100 years ago. It is clear that as the microbial sciences continue to prosper, more ways must be found to include new disciplines and groups under the ASM tent [1].
ASM must continue to facilitate scientific integration while recognizing the need for group autonomy. One change meant to promote cross-disciplinary science is the integration of the General Meeting and Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) into the new ASM Microbe 2016. This meeting is designed to provide a welcoming environment for everyone in the microbial sciences. ASM is expanding and evolving the bandwidth of the meeting by organizing content into broad scientific and professional “tracks” covering the breadth of the microbial sciences rather than focusing on particular microbes or disciplines. Participation of special interest groups is absolutely essential for cross-discipline interactions in many of those tracks. ASM has always encouraged member-initiated topics and sessions at its general meeting. However, now more than ever, it is clear that the integration of disciplines and technology is essential for the discovery and translation of research findings. Such integration is difficult to achieve when autonomous groups drive agendas; therefore, interdisciplinary groups are now the norm.
ASM is much more than a single large general meeting. As an organization, our job is to make our members better because of our society. There is no magic wand to achieve this goal, just the conviction we will continue to constantly evolve and improve. We must listen to our constituents and understand what the various sub-disciplines within microbiology need and want, acting promptly on this information. The only constant in today's world of scientific societies is change.
In the discipline of clinical microbiology, ASM has been extremely active in the past several years, addressing the needs of its members. The information below outlines some (but not all) of the activities that ASM has undertaken and is currently developing on behalf of the society's clinical practitioners.
Section snippets
Clinical Microbiology Mentoring Committee
The purpose of the relatively new Clinical Microbiology Mentoring Committee (CMMC) is to mentor practicing clinical microbiologists and to expose students to clinical microbiology as a career option. This committee has developed several tools to advance careers in clinical microbiology. A 5-minute video entitled Life in the Clinical Microbiology Laboratory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHitKYBOgv4) has been produced. This video highlights the experience of being a highly skilled clinical
Public and Scientific Affairs Board
The clinical committees of the Public and Scientific Affairs Board (PSAB) are the Committee on Laboratory Practices (CLP) and the Professional Affairs Committee (PAC). Both of these committees are very busy in policy and advocacy for the profession of clinical microbiology. See Walker et al. [2] for a review of the policy of microbiology and the role of the PSAB. The CLP is currently working with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on
Education
The ASM Conference for Undergraduate Educators (ASMCUE) serves educators, primarily from undergraduate institutions, community colleges, and doctorate-granting institutions. At this conference, educators learn and share best practices in teaching the microbial sciences at the undergraduate level. ASMCUE attendees are on the “front lines” and are typically the first to expose students to microbial identification techniques, problem solving, and teamwork. All qualities needed for a career in
Meetings
The all-new ASM Microbe (a meeting that combines the spring General Meeting with the fall ICAAC meeting) will feature two clinical tracks: clinical science and epidemiology, as well as therapeutics and prevention. Division Group I representatives to the General Meeting program committee have worked in concert with ICAAC program committee members to develop a comprehensive and extensive program of clinically focused symposia and poster sessions. Track hubs, including a clinical track hub, will
Membership
ASM has become very astute about the needs of the clinical microbiologist. As a result, the society has started to reach out to the clinical branches of ASM, as well as other regional microbiology groups and meetings to explore offering targeted benefits and products. An example is the provision of ASM Distinguished Lecturers to clinically oriented ASM branches and groups that are diversifying their programming to include clinically oriented content. An effort is under way to recruit clinical
Professional Practice Committee
The PPC was created in 2011 by ASM to provide professional development opportunities and content to members to increase their skills, enhance their job performance, and contribute to the profession. The PPC serves the microbiology profession by representing clinical microbiologists; immunologists; microbiologists working in the pharmaceutical, environmental, and food industries; and biological safety officers. To achieve its mission, the committee coordinates ASM's professional development
American Academy of Microbiology
The American Academy of Microbiology (AAM) is the honorific leadership group within ASM. The mission of the academy is to recognize scientists for outstanding contributions to microbiology and to provide microbiological expertise in the service of science and the public. The AAM now has a stronger and better understanding of the role of clinical microbiologists and has made major modifications to the route for fellowship eligibility.
The AAM's Committee on Elections (COE) is responsible for
Strategic Alliances
ASM hosted the first Global Market Update and Analyst Meeting at ASM in 2015. This meeting was designed to provide insights from the academic and consultant viewpoints on trends associated with the use of diagnostics in clinical microbiology in order to provide an educational forum for Wall Street analysts and industry representatives. The meeting was attended by approximately 50 participants, with the majority being executive, C-suite (i.e., chief executive officer, chief operating officer)
Summary
This article has outlined the many ways in which ASM is supporting clinical microbiology and will help to build its future. ASM is and will continue to be our “go-to” professional society. However, we should also encourage all microbial science groups and members of other societies to join ASM, because we have a larger mission. We are stronger as a federation of like-minded scientists and educators than we are as small outposts of independent contractors. The future of the microbial sciences is
References (4)
- et al.
The policy of microbiology
Clin Microbiol Newsl
(2015) The big ASM tent: how to represent the microbial sciences?
mBio
(2015)
Cited by (2)
40 Years of the Clinical Microbiology Newsletter
2018, Clinical Microbiology NewsletterCitation Excerpt :The Newsletter has continued to “help identify, define, and provide guidance on the issues most relevant to clinical microbiology laboratorians and infectious disease practitioners” [2]. Also, the Newsletter has provided information about clinical microbiology groups who provide oversight and/or guidance, such as the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) [11], CDC's Clinical Laboratory Improvement Advisory Committee (CLIAC) [12] and ASM's Public and Scientific Affairs board [13]. Another common thread is the hunger for information about new methods for identification of microorganisms.
The invisible army
2017, Journal of Clinical Microbiology