| Contents of this Page: | Microcomm
2003
THINK MEMBERSHIP…. ASM has recently expressed concern about the number of members in its branches. In an effort to enhance visibility of branch meetings and increase membership, ASM National is offering to advertise branch meeting information on its website (They have a direct link to this site on their homepage). Our meeting information is currently posted on both the National Branch meeting information site www.asm.org/membership/index.asp?bid=23253 and our website www.asm.org/branch/brFl/index.htm. Over the last few years we have lost a number of long standing members to relocation and need to attract new members. Historically our branch has been a diverse group composed of both medical and environmental microbiologists. Currently our membership is dominated by environmental microbiologists and we need to make a serious effort at bringing in some of our medical oriented colleagues. We are currently required to have 25 full ASM members in our branch. Student membership does not count towards meeting this goal. Please make an effort to notify new faculty or other colleagues of the meeting and encourage them to attend……..which brings us to our meeting. The 2004 ASM Florida Branch Meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn ? International Drive Resort, 6515 International Drive, Orlando, Florida on February 27th and 28th. We have blocked rooms for the meeting for Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The phone number for reservations is (407) 351-3500. Be sure to mention that you are attending the ASM Florida Branch meeting when making reservations. If you have any problems making reservations or need directions please give me a call or contact me via elm. The resort website is http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/hi/1/en/hd/mcoid On Friday afternoon our ASM Foundation speaker will be Dr. Diana Northup of the University of New Mexico who will present ‘Shedding New Light on a Dark Topic: The Microbial Wonderland of Caves.’ Additional guest speakers for Friday’s session include: 1) Dr. Andrew Randall of the University of Central Florida who will present ‘Phenotype and Phylogenetic Predominance and Competition in Environmental Systems.’ 2) Dr. Stephaney Shehane of the University of South Florida who will present ‘Understanding the Sources and Fate of Conventional and Alternative Indicator Organisms in Subtropical Waters and Sediments.’ And 3) Dr. Kim Ritchie of Mote Marine Laboratories who will present ‘Bacterial Community Structure of Corals and Changes during Stress and Disease.’ The registration desk for the meeting will open on Friday at noon and presentations will start at 1:00pm. Undergraduate and Graduate student presentations will be held on Saturday (the sessions will start at 8:30am). Each student presentation is limited to 10 minutes with an extra 5 minutes for questions. Keep this in mind as this is one of the areas used to judge talks. Last years winners were: Graduates…1st Place, Shannon Williamson, 2nd Place, Mike Gray, 3rd Place David John….all three from USF’s Department of Marine Sciences…. …….. Undergraduates…1st Place, Tim Borden and 2nd Place, Jennifer Cannon .............very nice work everyone! The Branch will also sponsor a Friday night mixer at 6:00pm………hopefully by the pool. Once again Florida Branch ASM funds are available to support undergraduate attendance (registration and hotel costs). The National Organization has again provided funding in support of our initiative to promote undergraduate participation in ASM. Please spread the word to any colleagues who may be interested in sending undergraduates to our meeting. Support is offered to all undergraduates regardless of whether they are presenting or not. Any members who plan on bringing or sponsoring undergraduates should contact me by phone, (727-803-8747ext.3113) or e-mail (dgriffin@usgs.gov) prior to the meeting.. Registration and abstract forms for our meeting are available at our
website.
See you at the Holiday Inn!
If you’re interested in outbreak news from a global perspective check out the World Health Organization - http://www.who.int/csr/don/en/. Some recent news from that site is pasted below: Disease Outbreak News
10 December 2003
News from the Centers for Disease Control - http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/.
Synopsis Influenza activity in the United States continued to increase during week 48 (November 23 - 29, 2003). One thousand three hundred nine (39.1%) of 3,350 specimens collected from throughout the United States and tested by U.S. World Health Organization (WHO) and National Respiratory and Enteric Virus Surveillance System (NREVSS) collaborating laboratories were positive for influenza. The proportion of patient visits to sentinel providers for influenza-like illness (ILI) overall was 5.1%, which is above the national baseline of 2.5%. The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza was 6.5%, which is below the epidemic threshold for the week. Thirteen state health departments reported widespread influenza activity, 16 states and New York City reported regional activity, 6 states reported local influenza activity, 13 states, Guam, and Puerto Rico reported sporadic influenza activity, and 1 state and the District of Columbia reported no influenza activity. Laboratory Surveillance* During week 48, WHO and NREVSS laboratories reported 3,350 specimens
tested for influenza viruses, and 1,309
Speaking of the flu……as everyone has heard there is a shortage of flu vaccine this year……if you missed it, do not get to stressed about it…..also there is concern that the vaccine may not provide protection from A(H3N2) as this virus was not included in this years vaccine ..….hummm, you think?. …...there are reports that a somewhat related strain which was used in producing the vaccine would offer some degree of protection……it doesn’t …….I’ve been eating a lot of soup lately…….and I’m really enjoying the alternating cold and hot flashes… ……Sincerely delirious…….Dale
Information on a variety of national and international meeting/workshops can be found in the ASM web site --http://www.asmusa.org/ ASM Mission The ASM is the world's largest scientific society of individuals interested in the microbiological sciences. The Society’s mission is to advance microbiological sciences through the pursuit of scientific knowledge and dissemination of the results of fundamental and applied research. ASM will: * Support programs of education, training and public information; * Publish journals and books; convene meetings, workshops and colloquia; * Promote the contributions and promise of the microbiological sciences;
* Set standards of ethical and professional behavior.
MICROCOMM is published as an annual newsletter of the Florida Branch ASM. Besides meeting announcements, we will endeavor to bring you local branch news and items of interest. We welcome contributions to the newsletter from our members. Anything that you feel would be of interest to other microbiologists in Florida is welcome. Please send your input to: Dale Griffin, US Geological Survey, 600 4th St. South, St Petersburg, FL 33701 or e-mail to dgriffin@usgs.gov |
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