June 2005
IUMS 2005
International Union of Microbiological Societies 2005 Meeting
This summer, the United States National Committee of the International Union of Microbiological Societies (IUMS) will host the triennial joint meeting of the three divisions of IUMS. The meeting, which bears the theme "Microbes in a Changing World," will be held July 23-28, 2005, in San Francisco's Moscone Convention Center.
Approximately 3,000 individual scientific presentations will be made over the course of the meeting, which has an expected attendance of 6,000 attendees from around the world with over 100 countries represented.
The scientific program of the meeting is organized by the three Divisions of the IUMS: Bacteriology & Applied Microbiology (BAM), Mycology and Virology. Traditionally, the BAM and Mycology divisions hold their meetings jointly with a short break separating the Virology division meeting. This year's meeting, for only the second time since 1966, will feature three concurrent congresses with bridging plenary sessions on topics common to all three congresses.
The opening session on the evening of Saturday, July 23, will feature a keynote by Nobel Laureate David Baltimore, President of the California Institute of Technology.
Media facilities will be available. The press center will be located in the Moscone Center. Program and abstract books, news releases and information about daily activities will be available.
Preliminary program and hotel information are available online at http://www.asm.org/Media/index.asp?bid=35876. Media registration is complimentary. Journalists wishing to register can do so by contacting Jim Sliwa, American Society for Microbiology Office of Communications, at [email protected] or by phone at (202) 942-9297.
The International Union of Microbiological Societies was founded in 1927 as the International Society of Microbiology, and became the International Association of Microbiological Societies affiliated to the International Union of Biological Sciences (IUBS) as a Division in 1967. It acquired independence in 1980 and became a Union Member of International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU) in 1982.
The objectives of the Union are to promote the study of microbiological sciences internationally: initiate, facilitate and coordinate research and other scientific activities which involve international cooperation; ensure the discussion and dissemination of the results of international conferences, symposia and meetings and assist in the publication of their reports; represent microbiological sciences in ICSU and maintain contact with other international organizations.