Max Häggblom, chair and distinguished professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, severed as lead instructor and co-director of the 2022 FEMS Summer School for Postdocs held Sept. 3-13 in Split, Croatia. FEMS, the Federation of European Microbiological Societies, was set up in 1974 and is a growing coalition of 56 member societies from 40 countries.
FEMS summer schools are designed to support personal and professional development through 10 days of close work with top scientists, and to enable and encourage research collaboration across all fields of microbiology. Focused on the topic, “Microbiology for a Sustainable Future,” the 2022 FEMS Summer School for Postdocs covered an exciting range of topics including water quality/developments in wastewater treatment technologies, biodegradation of toxic chemicals, biogeochemical cycles, climate change, bioenergy, urbanization – microbes in the build environment, microbes in agriculture, OneHealth, and bioinformatics and health.
The speakers and mentors examined microbiology in the changing word of the Anthropocene, exploring the metabolic adaptations of microbial communities and their impacts on biogeochemical cycles, their symbioses, and the interactions of complex microbial assemblages from pristine tundra to polluted industrial sites, and to the human host.
2022 FEMS Summer School for Postdocs presented a unique opportunity for early career scientists to receive instruction and supervision from prominent academics, collaborate and network with fellow researchers from an international range of countries, and to discuss their own work as well as wider aspects of being a scientist.
FEMS comprises an active and diverse network of around 30,000 professionals who are committed to advancing microbiology for the benefit of society in the areas of health, energy, food, materials, and the environment. As a not-for-profit organization, the income from FEMS journals is used to fund charitable activities and support the community, in particular early career scientists.
This article was published by Rutgers Today on October 11, 2022.